Reconnecting Another Story
by ForbiddenKHfan216
Summary: It's been 6 months since Sora's death. Kairi and Riku have vowed to complete Sora's mission to seal the Keyholes.However,with new foes and as old friends become enemies,can they accomplish their goal? With the future in mind, can they change destiny? Note: Has been permanently placed on hiatus.
1. Rebirth

**Well, hello again everyone!**

**This is the first brand-new chapter of _Reconnecting Another Story_ after I ended up scrapping the last attempt at telling the story.**

**I hope it amuses you.**

**I have to put this: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ _RETURN OF THE ORGANIZATION_, YOU WILL BE CONFUSED.**

**Ahem, the disclaimer…**

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or EVER WILL belong to me.**

**Oh yeah, I'm playing around with some of the characters' personalities, so that might be why this guy sounds TOTALLY different.**

**X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x X**

**Unknown Location**

_It hurts…. It hurts so much….._

He felt weak, he felt sick, he felt like he was dying.

But wasn't he already dead?

Robotically, the boy places a numb hand to his chest and slowly raises it to his burning eyes. Dark liquid trickles down his arm, a deep crimson that seems to pierce the darkness he was in to show the faintest trace of red light.

_Who… Who am I?_ The boy questions himself. Already his memories were beginning to fade away, each precious moment disappearing as if they had never existed.

He had the faintest memory of someone smiling at him, of a voice calling his name which was a name he couldn't recall, and the sweetly burning sensation of sitting in the sun with someone he couldn't remember.

His home world was very sunny, it rarely rained there; he remembered that much.

Then how did he get to this world of darkness?

Lifting his heavy head off of the ground, he could see that in this world, it had never had the faint sensation of watching the sun set in the sky, watching as it sank beneath the waves to make way for the night sky of jeweled stars and of the mirror like moon.

_**Giving up already? C'mon, I thought you were stronger than that. **_An echoing voice says from the deepest part of his mind, a taunting voice that had no right to be there.

The boy grits his teeth angrily as he tries to recall just who that infuriating voice belonged to.

Nothing, not even the faintest flicker of a memory came to mind.

_It's my lucky charm; be sure and bring it back to me. _A second voice says, this one oddly softer and feminine, as if it belonged to a young girl. This was strange, considering that the first one seemed to belong to a slightly older boy.

"Ka….Kairi…R-Riku..." The boy hears himself saying, tasting the names on his tongue, sounding them out carefully as if he wanted to make sure they lasted forever.

He didn't know who they were, but the very sounds of their names made him feel stronger; strong enough to get up at the least.

Slowly and carefully, the boy forces himself into a sitting position.

"It's dark…" The boy says out loud, though his golden eyes could see perfectly in the harsh blackness of this strange world. He seemed to have night-vision.

Twisting spirals of cold black stone were everywhere, supporting nothing but they looked very impressive. There was no floor, at least none the boy could see. It felt like a soft and icy cold mist, even when he patted the "ground" he couldn't feel the stone or the earth that would have given him some kind of clue to where he was.

"Nothing…." He murmurs to himself as he sifts the mist through his gloved fingers, smiling as this briefly amuses him. He felt like a little kid, playing in the sand at the beach.

"A… beach…." The boy says to himself, as he frowns in confusion as he tries to recall just what a "beach" looked like.

"Lots of sand….. and the ocean." Wincing, he remembers vaguely of what looked like a crude raft. He was lying on top of it, making a strange noise. Someone had said something very funny to him and he couldn't stop a weird hiccupping sound. The past him couldn't stop making that funny gasping noise as he struggled to breathe.

But from what he remembered of the memory, he had liked the sound and that he liked the sensation.

Cautiously, he opens his mouth and starts mimicking the noise.

"Hahahaha…" He says weakly, feeling nothing of the warm feeling that he had felt in the memory.

Angrily, he throws himself back onto the ground, feeling completely useless and utterly alone.

"Maybe I should go back to sleep…." He murmurs to himself as he places his right hand on his chest, exploring how sticky wet that the fluid drying on it was. He didn't know what it was, but knew that it was a pretty color, that pretty red.

Where it had been coming from was already closing up, his chest wasn't so heavy anymore.

"It's called blood." A dark voice says out loud, sounding amused.

The boy immediately sits up and looks around the darkness for the person making the sound.

"... Are you giving up already, boy?" The deep voice asks with scorn.

The boy says nothing, but continues to look around for the voice.

His eyes were getting heavier, but he still felt very alert. But why couldn't he see the person?

The boy lies back down, assuming that Voice would talk to him again if he did what he had been doing the first time.

"What is it that you want?" The deep voice asks softly to him with an oddly warm tone in his or her voice.

_What I want…?_

The boy didn't know how to answer this; what DID he want?

An image of a smiling girl and a smirking boy on the strange raft he'd seen earlier suddenly flashes through his mind, vanishing as quickly as it had come; before he could grasp it completely, it disappeared.

_Them… I want them… to be together with me forever…. _He says shyly, wondering if Voice could give him back these people.

He knew that it was a selfish wish, but that was what he wanted…. He wanted to remember them.

_Why can't I remember...? What happened? ..._ All he could remember was that sharp pain in his chest and then he ended up here. Almost automatically, he puts his hand back on his chest, but the wound was already gone. There was nothing but smooth flesh underneath his fingers and the last remains of the blood was already dripping away into the misty ground.

"I can give you strength." The voice offers. The boy curls his lips into a cruel sneer.

_I don't want that! _He snarls at the Voice, feeling angry at the very idea of it.

Of course, he wasn't sure what Voice was talking about, but the boy knew what he wanted.

"I can give you power."

_I don't want that either. I want _THEM_. _The boy demands again, feeling even angrier.

If Voice wasn't going to give him what he wanted, then why was he here? Was Voice only making fun of him?

"Hm. An interesting little Heartless, aren't you? One that still has a Soul." Voice says, sounding amused but also a little mean sounding; as if he was being amused by making the boy feel so mixed up.

_Heartless…?_ The boy asks, a look of confusion appearing on his face.

It sounded familiar… so familiar….

"Yes. Your name is no longer APPROPRIATE for you-"The voice spits out a name, as if in a curse. The boy smiles at the name, feeling a warm, nice sensation at the sound of it. Even though Voice didn't seem to like the name, the boy did.

_It's my name, it's my name…_ The boy says happily to himself, smiling broadly at the thought of having a name.

Voice suddenly goes quiet, as if waiting for the boy to finish his inner rant of joy.

…_. Who are you?_ The boy asks softly, wanting to add another name to his small list. He liked names; it felt nice to have a name.

"Nobody. Nobody and everybody." The voice chuckles.

The boy frowns. Even he knew that NOBODY wasn't a name.

… _I meant your name. _The boy amends carefully, desperately wanting to know Voice's name.

"… Kieran." The voice says, making the boy wince. Voice… Kieran was much closer now, which scared the boy a little. He wasn't sure if Kieran was trustworthy, but he seemed nice.

_Doesn't that mean- _The boy asks, wanting the meaning of the name. Kieran says nothing, but from the silence, the boy knew that he was smiling.

"Something of that nature-" Here he says the boy's name again, but slightly distorted. There was a flash of bright light which made the boy stare in wonder. He didn't know that something could be that wonderful.

He wanted more of it; he wanted to fill up this entire world with this beautiful phenomenon, to make all the darkness go away and be this beautiful miracle.

_**Watch.**_ Kieran's voice echoes inside the boy's head and dutifully, the boy obeys.

Gleaming lines and swirls appear from the beautiful light and form letters. He knew that letters made up words which in turn would make up sentences. But what did these letters mean?

He glances at Kieran who only stood watching his creation, smiling a little at it. The boy didn't know what was so special about the letters, though he thought the light itself was much more spectacular.

Then he understood.

These were the letters of his old name. In a dizzying dance, the golden characters swirl around him, changing, warping. Two vanish and several more come to take their place.

_An X? _The boy asks, confused. Some of these letters weren't in his name, especially not the X.

"Just for you, pitiful one." Kieran says softly, a weird emotion in his voice. He sighs at the boy who only frowns back at him because he was still trying to figure out what the word Kieran said meant.

The boy wasn't very sure what 'pitiful' meant, but he knew that he didn't like being called that.

As he was beginning to understand this, the X flashes above him and the letters mix around, forming-

"Keyxs." The boy says softly, trying out the new word. His golden eyes gleam dully in the almost blinding light of the letters. Kieran finally appears in his vision, holding out a gloved hand to help him up.

The boy stares at him; he looked like an ordinary person.

Kieran wore all black, which was probably why the boy couldn't see him at first.

Thick leather boots with metal on the toes and heels were what he could see out of the corner of his eye, since Kieran was standing right beside him.

A long black cloak over what looked like a black T-shirt, sort of like the one the boy knew that he himself was wearing underneath his funny clothes.

Black pants with the design of a blue rose on the pocket; weird but it sort of suited Kieran.

Kieran smiles at him as he offers him his left hand to help him up. He was wearing black gloves with a blue design on them. The boy thought it was another blue rose, but couldn't tell because the design was at an angle.

_**Your new name.**_ He says inside the boy's head, motioning to the shining letters with his right hand.

"…. Kai…ri…." The boy whispers in response, licking his lips at the sound of the name, looking confused at the sound, but he doesn't question it this time. Maybe Kieran could tell him what it meant. Kieran smiles as Keyxs takes his hand.

"Awaken, my new comrade. Destroy the worlds by my side, destroy the foolish Keyblade Master and Princess." He says with a warm smile at the boy, his black eyes gleaming in the darkness.

The boy nods, smiling brightly at Kieran. He knew that now Kieran was his master, that he had saved him from sleeping forever in this realm.

"Yes, Master." The boy, now renamed Keyxs, replies. He bows to his new master, knowing just how lucky he was to have been saved from that eternal sleep.

"Come, child. You must be cold… You have been sleeping for quite a while." Master Kieran says to Keyxs, removing his own black cloak to wrap around the boy's shoulders.

"Thank you, sir." Keyxs says, only know realizing just how cold he had been. He clumsily fastens the heavy pin to make sure that the oversized cloak stayed on his body. Peculiarly, the pin looked like an animal, a black bird.

"That is my mark, Keyxs. A raven." Master Kieran says to him, noticing his curiosity.

"Oh, a raven…." Keyxs echoes, nodding as if he understood exactly what Master Kieran had said. He really didn't know what the word meant, only that this little figurine wouldn't fly because it wasn't real. If it had been real, it would have bitten him, wouldn't it?

"You are like an infant… You have no knowledge of the world besides of what little you can remember." Master Kieran laughs darkly, looking very amused. Keyxs shrivels down a little in the cloak, feeling a strange sensation of painful self-consciousness about how ignorant he must seem in his Master's eyes.

"It's all right… Soon you shall know everything." Master Kieran says confidently with the wisdom of someone very old, though he didn't look much older than Keyxs himself.

"Everything? I can know everything?" Keyxs asks in awe, he didn't know that he could know so much. Master Kieran nods and suddenly snaps his fingers, making Keyxs flinch in surprise.

"Uhh…" Keyxs says, looking around. Nothing had happened.

"Time for you to face your destiny, my friend." Master Kieran says with a dark chuckle as he vanishes into a pillar of dark smoke.

Keyxs remains quiet and closes his eyes.

"Sora!" A voice cries out, from the deepest part of his memory, someone he didn't know and yet... he knew that voice.

"That voice…Kairi…. Am… I Sora?" Keyxs wonders to himself, confusion clouding his thoughts.

Unable to do anything else, he follows his master into the Corridor of Darkness.


	2. Preparation

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or EVER WILL belong to me.**

**Uh…. Yes, it's been a while, right?**

**Lemme explain.**

**I was working on this chapter, when I suddenly got stuck on just how it would go.**

**Because of this, I became fixated on somehow fixing this chapter up.**

**That's why I haven't been updating.**

**I'm done, please enjoy the update!**

**Oh and this is roughly six months AFTER last chapter. **

**X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x X**

**Destiny Islands**

"Have you found it?" A harsh voice murmurs softly to his comrade.

"Yes. It's here." The young girl nods solemnly. Both figures were concealed by long black cloaks, but their voices gave away their genders very easily. The slight deepness of the first person's voice showed that he was probably a boy, while the soft musical sound of the second seemed to reveal that she was a young girl, no more than 15 years old.

"Good. We'll find it soon enough." The boy says with a dark smirk, his face in shadow beneath his dark hood. Night was quickly falling on the small humble island; it seemed that there were no living creatures left on the roads, not even the most modest of animals.

"Geez! I'm going to get in so much trouble, Riku!" A female voice calls out in a panicking tone as the calm of the night was shattered by the pattering of shoes slapping wetly on the hardened pavement.

"YOU'LL be getting in trouble, Kairi? What about me? My shirt's all burned! Thanks to you!" A husky boy's voice snaps with his voice light and mischievous as he continues to run.

"Well, you know I can't aim very well yet!" Kairi says indignantly, sounding mildly offended at Riku's choice of words. Riku just laughs and slings his arm over her shoulders.

"But I guess you can make up for it… If you beg!" He lightly squeezes her neck, just enough for her to jump confusingly before he starts running. He smirks over his shoulder, showing that he had only been teasing her.

"RIKU! GET BACK HERE!" Kairi says furiously, chasing after her friend and swinging her brown school bag at his retreating back. Riku just starts laughing as he continues to jog carefully at Kairi's pace so he wouldn't leave her behind.

"… Hm. How pathetic." The boy comments on the scene, his icy eyes looking carefully at the grinning and happy faces of the pair joking around below them. He seemed to be amused at their laughter, but not really caring about it either. The girl stares at Riku and Kairi, drinking in on just how happy they seemed, the way that they were so familiar with each other. She clenches one gloved hand into a fist, shaking and glowering at the happy scene. Her dark eyes were burning with envy.

"Let's go." The boy commands disdainfully, turning his back on his companion. She takes one last look at the two kids before nodding. The two black cloaked figures vanish, leaving behind not even a single trace that they had been there.

"Hey Riku, this was fun!" Kairi says she finally manages to catch up to Riku by grabbing him by his long silvery hair, making him stop dead in his tracks.

"Yeah… It's been a while since we've been able to have fun like this." Riku agrees solemnly, flipping his hair out of his eyes as he tries to straighten the stiff white collar of his long sleeved shirt. Both Riku and Kairi were dressed similarly, in their school's uniforms of white button down shirts and blue checkered skirts or pants.

"Mmm, guess so." Kairi says, not really seeming to have an opinion on the subject. Riku says nothing, but adjusts the strap of his black messenger school bag instead.

"…. Do you really think that they're coming for us?" Kairi asks next, wanting to break the awkward silence between them. Riku pauses, but after thinking for a moment, he nods.

"Yeah. They have to. After all, if this "warrior of darkness" is really going to come, then they'll need to get all the Princesses of Heart together to protect them, right?" Riku says carefully, watching Kairi's expression carefully. She smiles.

"I guess you're right then! See you tomorrow, Riku. Don't forget your promise!" Kairi says as they come to her house.

"I won't. Come ready to work!" Riku says in a mockingly serious voice. Kairi laughs and waves good bye to him as she walks up the painted steps of her house. She takes out her house key and opens the door. At this point, Riku turns around and starts walking down the street to his own house.

"….. Geez. I promised to take care of her." Riku mumbles gloomily to himself, his cheerful façade broken the moment that he stepped out of Kairi's sight. He sighs and tugs at his mildly charred shirt sleeve.

_I'm going to be in so much trouble for that…. It's not like I have a lot of these stupid shirts… Oh well. I'm sure I can fix it before Mom has to wash this._ Riku muses as he decides to repair the damaged sleeve.

"Come back anytime you need to." He suddenly hears his mother's voice saying as he rounds the corner.

"Thanks…. You've been kind." Sora's mother says sadly as she accepts a small bag of food that Riku's mother hands over.

"I just don't know why those two are being so secretive…. You sure that they said Sora was-?" Riku's mother pauses, unsure on whether to go on with her question.

"Yes. Riku said that my son wasn't going to come home." Sora's mother says solemnly, seeming ready to burst into tears at the very uttering of the sentence. Riku's mother stays silent for a moment, before giving her friend a quick hug and sending her on her way.

"…. Riku…" She sighs, watching the departing figure disappear into the dark gloominess of the night.

"Hey Mom. What's for dinner?" Riku asks as he approaches her. She turns around and immediately frowns at him.

"….DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?" She yells furiously, grabbing him by the hair.

"OW! I'm sorry! I fell asle-" Riku tries to explain but his mom wouldn't listen and just drags him inside to the kitchen, scolding him the entire time.

"And would have it _KILLED_ you to call me? If you were off playing with Kairi and Tidus, that would have been at the _LEAST _you could have done!" She snaps angrily as she shoves him into a chair.

"… Sorry." Riku sighs, kicking off his dark brown loafers and putting on a pair of simple white sandals that he wore inside the house. His mother just glares at him and starts chopping a large loaf of bread into slices.

"You missed dinner. I'm warming something up for you." She says finally, after being quiet for a little while.

"Thanks." Riku says as he gets up to help her. She just shows him the large silver knife as a threat, and he sits back down. He knew fully well that she wouldn't use it, but since she was so mad, he might want to pretend that he was scared of her.

"Here." She says gruffly, putting an empty bowl on the counter for him and glancing over to the bubbling pot on the stove which was warming up a thick creamy soup.

"Thanks, Mom." Riku says gratefully, remembering that he could leave any day now, leaving behind his parents for a fourth time. He wasn't even sure if he'd be able to come back this time, so he was enjoying all the small things that he knew from the island.

"Riku… What really happened to Sora?" His mom asks after pouring the liquid into the bowl. By this time, Riku knew just what answer to give.

"I don't know. I can't remember." He lies calmly as he slowly sips at the rich soup and tears into a chunk of bread with suppressed anger.

"That's a complete lie and you know it. Tell me the truth." She says with an equally calm voice as she hands him a soda can from the fridge.

"Sorry." Riku says, still entirely composed as he keeps eating.

"Then where did you go a few months ago? You and Kairi vanished for about three or four months and you wouldn't tell us where you disappeared to, Riku." She says next.

"Can't remember." Riku says automatically, feeling slightly guilty about lying but knowing that there would be no way she would believe the truth. What, was he just supposed to say that Sora had been this almost legendary fighter/hero and was killed in a fight against evil monsters that stole people's hearts? And that now, Riku himself had to take up Sora's job and save the world? When would she ever believe him?

"Riku…." She sighs, turning back to the stove sadly. From what Riku could see of her expression, she clearly wasn't going to let this question go. He sighs himself, wondering what answer he could give her to make her back off. For a moment, he was almost tempted to tell her everything, from what the Keyblade was to what had happened six months ago.

"…. Hey Mom? I'll be going to bed now." Riku says instead, stacking his dirty dishes in a semi-neat pile and dumping them in the sink.

"Fine. You'll be in so much trouble when your father gets home." She says angrily, scrubbing viciously at a stubborn plate.

"Right…" Riku yawns and walks down the hall to his room. He could hear even now the deep snoring of his older brother and the whispered muttering of his sister showing that those two were already deeply asleep.

"Night guys." He mutters as he reaches the door to his room, marked with a large wooden plaque proudly embellished with "RIKU" in large flamboyant letters. Without even pausing, he pushes the door open and makes his way across the small room to his bed which had been pushed into a corner.

"….. Night, you two." Riku says habitually to a series of small pictures that were on his bureau. Each and every one of them had the same three kids, all in different stages of their lives. One of their first days of school, each one looking both excited and nervous at the same time as they grin up at the camera. A picture from when they were about nine or eight, showing off their catch from fishing. A more recent picture of them sitting near the paopu tree, all three of them fast asleep in the hot summer sun with the two boys of the group clutching the splintered remains of what used to be wooden swords.

Soon with these happy memories in mind, Riku drifts off to sleep.

* * *

The strange sensation of falling through icy water, the hint of darkness in the air.

These were all he could feel, before his heavy eyelids could lift.

_This is… the Secret Place, isn't it?_ Riku wonders to himself as he looks around. Sure enough, he recognized the dark rock that was the walls of the cave, all marked in some way with crude chalk drawings. Walking slowly, as if he was sleepwalking, Riku traces one drawing of a lopsided crown before he hears the crunch of someone walking on sand.

"This is it…." A husky voice says, sounding breathless.

_Hello?_ Riku calls out but then claps a hand to his mouth as he realizes no sound had come out. The person keeps walking forward until finally Riku saw who it was.

A young boy with dark spikey hair and wearing a very familiar set of black and silver clothing smiles at the door, eventually walking up to it and placing his hand on the worn wooden surface.

"The door has opened… Finally, the door has opened!" Sora says calmly, with a vicious grin on the boy's face as he stares with an almost ravenous expression at the door. His dark blue eyes rapidly shift into a harsh metallic golden color as he almost lovingly strokes the surface of the door.

_No… it can't be you._ Riku tries to speak to the figure but again, his voice refused to work as he mouths furiously to try to get Sora's attention.

"Open further, so I can take your strength, Destiny Islands! Give me your power; give me the strength to bring you into Darkness!" Sora says forcefully, black tendrils of black ooze beginning to appear on his body, binding him to the ground.

_SORA!_

"Open up to everlasting Darkness!" Sora commands in a deep voice, the dark shadow around his feet starts to get larger and larger, practically filling up the small cave entirely. The once closed door slams open to reveal an eternal void beyond its wall.

_What… Sora! Listen to me!_ Riku tries again, but Sora continues to ignore him.

"With this… I can finally possess it, can't I? That blade, the one that HE carries. I won't be a memory anymore! I'll finally be free from him!" Sora laughs, seeming drunk with power as the black shadow continues to contort around him.  
"I won't be a memory anymore. I'll finally be free from you. I won't ever be your shadow again!" Sora screams in triumph as he vanishes into the shadow.

"SORA!"

* * *

Riku opens his eyes and sits up rapidly in bed.

"It's today." He says to himself, panting heavily and trembling uncontrollably.

_We're coming._ He thinks confidently, as he starts cramming clothes into a small duffel bag.

_Don't worry, we're coming._

**X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x X**

**And this is what I get for eating sugar so early in the damn morning.**


	3. Departure

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or _EVER _will belong to me.**

**DAMMIT, I HATE YOU RIKU!**

**STOP MAKING ME WRITE YOU SO DAMN EMO!**

… **I'm done; you guys go on and read the chapter.**

**To make up for not updating, I'm writing a second chapter before going to some of my comedies.**

**God, I hate the ending to this chapter.**

**But forget that and why don't we play a game instead?**

**Spot how much of the original fic is in this chapter!**

**Go!**

**PS: The authoress has left to her relatives' house, all messages will not be responded to until I come back or somehow get my hands on a computer!**

**X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x X**

**Destiny Islands**

"NO!" Kairi sits up in bed. She was soaked in sweat.

"… Nightmare." Kairi whispers, clutching her head. She couldn't remember what it had been about, but she continued to shiver anyway.

The harsh morning sunlight catches the shiny metal of a small necklace on her bureau, and she untangles her legs from her sheets. Kairi walks over to it and picks it up. In doing so, she accidentally brushes her elbow on the picture where it was hung from. Several more small pictures clatter noisily to the floor.

"Sorry, Sora." Kairi says to it apologetically. She clasps the necklace around her neck, the small crown settling on her heart. She bends down to pick up the picture and places it back next to a smiling trio grinning back up at her, each one holding a small fish. The oldest one, Riku at 9 years old, looks triumphantly at the camera, holding a 3 foot silver fish. Sora, 8 years old then, was perched next to him, grinning sheepishly at the camera and his 6 inch catch. Kairi's 8 year old self was holding a small starfish, sticking it against Sora's cheek and grinning.

"….. We'll be coming soon." She tells it, holding it close to her chest for a moment before placing it back neatly in its place on her bureau. Then Kairi turns back to the second picture she dropped.

It had been one she'd taken herself, of Sora and Riku posing in the kitchen of her house. Riku had been suppressing laughter at the sight of Sora in a very frilly pink flowered apron. Sora was oblivious to the reason of Riku's laughter but instead was using a battered old broom as an air guitar, making a rock-star pose and grinning up at the camera.

"Hahaha…." Kairi begins to laugh sadly, remembering how much effort it had taken to make Sora pose for the picture when he'd helped her to clean up her house. He'd been very reluctant at first, but then Riku showed up and Sora was more than happy to look like an idiot as long as someone was there doing the same.

"Me and Riku won't be home for a while, but don't miss us okay?" Kairi says to the pictures. The snapshots merely smile at her as she takes this as a sign of encouragement. Dressing quickly, she soon had on her school uniform before realizing today was a holiday and that she wouldn't be going to school anyway.

"Oops." She sighs and then starts putting on casual pants and a T-shirt. Without not really knowing why, she picks up a small bag which held all the things she wanted to bring with her when the King finally would come for them.

"Today's the day." She decides solemnly before grabbing one of the pictures from her bureau and stuffing it into a zippered compartment where it would be safe.

Moving quickly, she walks down the hall and makes it to the small kitchen. She takes one last look around, remembering how many times she had forced the boys to help her bake and basically learn how to cook.

Those two had been closer than brothers to her, she felt so sad to think that they would never be together in here. Sighing, she turns to the cabinets and starts raiding them.

"Nothing too heavy… nothing that can spoil." She mutters to herself, knowing that she couldn't bring too much on the trip.

"Hmmm…. Riku doesn't like tuna…" Kairi says before dropping the can back onto the shelf. She instead grabs a packet of dried jerky that she knew at least one of them would be able to eat and drops it into the part of her bag that didn't hold her clothes and soaps.

"Ah! The camping stuff…" Kairi remembers before dropping a box of matches into her bag along with several bags of trail mix and instant ramens.

"Going somewhere?" A deep voice asks quietly as Kairi's foster father comes into the kitchen.

"Um! Hi Daddy!" Kairi says nervously as she turns around and smiles broadly at him. The mayor of Destiny Islands, he had adopted her when she fell to the islands when she was little. Right now, he was looking at her with suspicion.

"What's with all that?" He demands as he motions vaguely to her bag.

"Um, me and Riku are going on a picnic later today! To celebrate school ending." Kairi lies rapidly, smiling innocently at him. He just raises an eyebrow.

"I'm worried about you, Kairi... You've been so secretive lately. I know that you miss Sora, but-… that doesn't mean I'll just let you run off whenever you want." He says, trying to sound strict and commanding but instead sounding just worried. Kairi sighs guiltily and nods.

"I know… I'm sorry, Dad." She says sadly, knowing that this could very well be the last time she saw him for a very long time. He smiles at her, the cheerfulness already back in his dark blue eyes.

"It's alright, Kairi. Just know that I'll always be here for you, and that you don't need to take any of your burdens alone. I'm your father and I love you." He tells her before gripping her close in a tight hug.

"Love you too, Daddy." Kairi says back sadly, hugging him back. Even if he wasn't her real father, this man had raised as his own without question. She loved him more than if he had been her real father.

"Kairi!" Riku's voice calls out from somewhere outside, breaking the silence between father and child.

"Riku, what's wrong?" Kairi asks as Riku skids into the kitchen, clutching his backpack's strap tightly.

"Riku, you better be nice to Kairi on your trip, alright?" Kairi's father says sternly as he drops in a few more dried foods and several drinks into a small backpack for Kairi to take along with her.

"Huh?" Riku glances at Kairi, shock clouding his face as he stares at her.

"Our PICNIC, REMEMBER, Riku?" Kairi says through clenched teeth, motioning over to her busy dad. Riku nods as he gets it.

"Oh yeah! We're gonna go over to the Play Island and hang out there for the day. Hope you don't mind, Mr. Mayor." Riku says, his voice oozing sincerity. Kairi's father sighs and hands her the bag.

"Here you go. That should be enough for the picnic. And Riku, I told you that you could call me by my name. When I'm in this household, I'm only Kairi's dad, got it?" He says, ruffling Riku's silver hair teasingly. Riku just puts up with it as he grabs Kairi by the arm.

"Well, we gotta go, bye!" They say in unison as they run for it.

"Those two sure are in a better mood now." The mayor muses as he turns back to the kitchen cabinets to see if he couldn't find himself a breakfast.

"That was CLOSE! I almost thought that you told him about what happened, Kairi!" Riku says as they stop running.

"Of course not! When would Dad believe me?" Kairi says disdainfully.

"…So… Where to?" Riku asks next. Kairi shrugs and points in a vague direction.

"Why don't we go pay our respects?"

**Destiny Islands: Graveyard**

"Whoa! We should have just gone at the paopu, Kairi!" Riku says grumpily as he nearly trips over a low lying gravestone.

"I want to say good bye." Kairi says coolly as she finally spots the gravestone she wanted. It was in the newer section of the graveyard which, even now, usually had tombstones covered in small toys and sweets. The grave they wanted however was much more modest and humble. It was made of simple white marble and had a large selection of flowers planted on the rich soil on it.

"I mean, we won't be coming back… even if he's not under there, I want to say good bye." Kairi finishes as she places her own small bouquet of carnations on the grass.

_Sora Minami_

_Age 15_

_Beloved son and friend,_

_You'll always in our hearts._

They had both agreed the day after the funeral was held that the simple epitaph under Sora's name suited him perfectly.

"You know, they're probably gonna meet us at the paopu." Riku says again, taking a seat by the gravestone.

"Yeah…" Kairi agrees but she also takes a seat on the damp green grass. They both became silent, listening to nothing but the daily noises of the Islands waking up. Birds calling, the sound of people starting to make breakfast…. All so ordinary.

"...Man, it's quiet." Riku comments.

"It IS a graveyard, Riku." Kairi says, glancing at him.

"Riiight... It's kind of a nice quiet though. Peaceful." Riku says instead, getting comfortable on the soft grass. Kairi nods and they just spend a few more minutes in their memories.

"Hey fellahs! Over here!" Someone calls out to them, the voice familiar. They both get up to look. Three familiar faces smile and wave at them.

"Nice to see that you guys aren't bein' lazy!" Goofy says jokingly as he comes over to Kairi to give her a hug.

"Donald! Goofy!" Kairi says excitedly as she hugs them.

"No, no, no, no! Daisy'll kill me!" Donald says in a mockingly scared voice before allowing Kairi to give him a hug.

"King Mickey." Riku says as the tiny mouse grins broadly at him.

"Are you ready to go, Riku?" He asks quietly, his usually light and happy eyes solemn. Riku nods.

"Yeah, let's get off these islands and seal those Keyholes!" Riku says confidently. Donald, Goofy and Kairi cheer in their excitement as King Mickey shrugs and laughs.

"Alright then! Did ya tell your parents where you were goin'?" The King asks next with much less enthusiastic responses from Kairi and Riku.

"Well, you see-"

"I thought we'd-"

Kairi and Riku stop and laugh nervously on how to explain that they hadn't told their families a thing about what had happened. The King sighs.

"I thought so… Well, I'm gonna leave them a letter so they won't get worried about cha, kay?" King Mickey says, producing a small bottle with a rolled and sealed parchment in it.

"Alright…" Riku says and Kairi nods. At least they wouldn't have to explain it.

"Now, let's go back to the ship! I'm tired of waitin' in the sun." Donald says grumpily.

"Gee, Donald… Maybe we should let 'em say good bye to their folks. I mean, don't cha think they'll be worried bout 'em?" Goofy says, trying to be the peacemaker in the group. Donald just looks at him sourly and nods.

"I think we should just leave the letter. I'm sure my mom and dad will know that it's something we have to do." Riku says instead, preferring King Mickey's idea more.

"Riku? Kairi?" A soft voice asks from behind them, making King Mickey jump and take out his Keyblade in surprise.

"Ah! Mrs.-" Kairi starts to say as Sora's mother appears with a basketful of fresh flowers for her son's grave.

"Uh… Is this Sora's mom? She looks just like 'im! Nice ta meet cha, the name's Goofy!" Goofy says as he offers his hand to her to shake. She blinks in surprise but shakes it.

"Um… Hello, Goofy. Were you paying your respects to Sora?" She asks with a smile.

"Now you've done it, you big palooka!" Donald tells him angrily as he whaps him in the kneecap with his mage's staff.

"Yeow! Donald, that hurt!" Goofy complains softly as he holds his bruised appendage in mild pain.

"Are you… friends of Sora?" Sora's mother asks, looking at them with curiosity. The King, Donald and Goofy all exchange looks before nodding in unison.

"Uh huh! We're great pals!" Goofy pipes in as Donald gives him another glare.

"Ma'am, your son was a good friend of ours." King Mickey says as he bows his head to her. She smiles and starts cleaning up the withered flowers from the ground.

"That means a lot, your Majesty." She says cheerfully as she starts replacing the flowers.

"Uh, how'd she know he was the King?" Goofy asks with a confused expression.

"That's a good question! Mrs. Minami, could you tell us?" Riku asks her.

"Sora would talk about his friends from another world…. Though I never thought that his friends would be so… cute." She says with a smile as she tugs gently on the King's ear, as if she was checking to see if they were real.

"Aw, shucks!" Goofy says with a happy grin.

"You'll be leaving now, won't you?" Mrs. Minami directs this question to Riku and Kairi.

"Yeah."

"I thought so… Would you two please do me a favor then?" She gets up and brushes off the fallen petals of the flowers off her dress.

"Anything!" Riku and Kairi say in unison. She smiles sadly at them.

"Find the one who killed my son. And make them pay." Mrs. Minami says solemnly, almost looking as if she wanted to come along with them. Instead she gathers up her basket and leaves quietly with the letter from King Mickey clutched in one hand.

"Promise! We'll find 'em!" Riku vows rashly as the retreating figure vanishes along the corner as she started to go back to her house.

"Let's go, fellahs." The King says as a large red ship appears hovering over the calm waves of the sea.

With one final look behind them at their islands, they get onboard and say their last good bye to their home.


	4. Promise

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or _EVER _will belong to me.**

**Hi guys! I'm back from my vacation!**

**And because of that…. I'll be updating starting today!**

**Yes, the ending was dumb, but I couldn't think on how to end it. Besides, the new update will be in less than a week! (hopefully…)**

**Ah, and to those who read my comedies, be advised that I'm attempting to update them as well. Very slowly though, I have to finish my summer homework too you know.**

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**Gummy Ship**

Watching the calm blue of the islands vanish, it made Riku feel as if he was in a dream, a strangely unreal dream. Both he and Kairi watched utterly transfixed as the white outlines of the various islands of their home shrank smaller and smaller, until only the deep intenseness of the immense ocean remained but soon enough even that began to wither away into the smallest of puddles.

"You okay, fellahs?" King Mickey's voice suddenly breaks through their stupor as both teenagers turn around to face the tiny king. He was watching them with more than a little concern in his eyes.

"Uh…. Yeah. We're okay. It's just…" Riku trails off as he becomes unsure on how to explain what he was seeing.

"I don't think they've ever seen Destiny Islands like this, huh, Riku?" Goofy asks with a smile on his cheerful face. Riku nods, and continues to stare out the large window in the bridge of the ship.

"Don't worry! We'll get ya home, safe an' sound." Donald says confidently as he pats Riku on the arm.

"Yeah… Thanks Don-" Riku begins to say when he suddenly shocked into silence at the next words.

"I don't ever want to come back to the islands." Kairi says in an icy voice as she turns away from the window.

"Huh?"

"You heard me. I don't care if we never come back. I don't _ever_ want to come back to this prison." Kairi continues in that strange voice as she gives one final glare of utter hatred to the place she had called home for over ten years. Riku just stares at his friend as if she had just suddenly grown a tail or something. He had never, not once in his life, heard her call the islands a "prison". That was something _he_ had once called it, but not her.

"Kairi, why don't cha let me show your room?" King Mickey says suddenly as he grabs Kairi's hand. His expression was completely and utterly serious as he looks up at her, almost as if he was daring her not to follow him.

"Oh, I get my own room? Thank you, your Majesty." Kairi says in a more normal tone of voice as she smiles down at the little mouse king. He smiles in relief and leads her away to another part of the ship.

"…. What the…?" Riku says in shock as he continues to stare at the spot where Kairi had been just a few minutes before, watching the disappearing islands with him.

"Uh… I betcha Kairi's just feelin' a little mixed up right now, Riku! She'll be a-OK in a while! ... I think..." Goofy says in an attempt at comforting him, but Riku just shakes his head.

"Why don't we show 'im to his room, Goofy? It's this way!" Donald says as he glares at his friend and then he turns to Riku with a smile.

"Sure. By the way… What's the ship called?" Riku asks politely. Donald and Goofy exchange glances at this point, as if they were a little worried on that subject.

"It's called the _Highwind_." Riku blinks in surprise at that name, remembering something from a long time ago.

"Sora named it but we made it even bigger! Thanks to Leon an' the others." Goofy says with a smile as he continues down one of the corridors, babbling on what each room contained and what they used it for. Riku wasn't paying the least bit attention, concentrating more on Kairi. What did she mean that she never wanted to come back to the islands? Was she crazy or something? Both of them had lived almost their entire_ lives_ on that world… and now she was rejecting it? Why?

"Here ya go! We thought you'd like this one." Goofy says as they stop. Riku takes a look inside and smiles. With very little decorations on the plain white walls of the small room (besides a large emblem of King Mickey's symbol etched proudly on one wall), it looked almost identical to his room at his house.

"Mom…. Dad…" Riku says in a mournful voice as a sudden bout of homesickness hits him. He immediately takes a seat on the neatly made bed, trembling from how much he wanted to go home. Riku buries his face in his hands as he begins to breathe rapidly, from the ache of wanting to see his family, even though he had seen them only a few minutes before.

"If ya wanna go on this ship, you gotta obey orders." Donald says in a solemn voice as he takes a seat next to Riku. Riku glances at him through the spaces between his fingers, having no clue on what he was talking about.

"That's right!" Goofy agrees and nods in an equally solemn way, though this was slightly ruined by the big grin etched across his face.

"Ya can't come along looking like that. Understand? No frowning. No sad face. Okay?" Donald says in a teasing voice as Riku grins.

"Yeah! You gotta look as funny as us! Right, Donald?" Goofy says with a laugh as he struggles to keep his solemn face on while still managing to smile.

"Ya big palooka!" Donald says in a slightly angry voice as he chucks his mage's staff at the dog, who barely manages to dodge it.

"Thanks you two. That makes me feel better." Riku sighs as he smiles unsurely at the pair. They grin at each other, feeling that their work was now done.

"Well, we gotta get back to flyin' the ship." Donald says as he gets up and starts waddling to the door.

"See ya in a bit, Riku! We're gonna go to Master Yen Sid's place first. Then to Traverse Town." Goofy whispers the last part of his sentence in a confidential voice as he slips a small bit of paper into Riku's hand. Giving the boy a wink, he ambles off behind Donald.

"Hmmm…." Riku opens up the paper and reads the four hastily scrawled words on the clumsily folded triangle to himself before dropping the paper in shock.

_Sora is alive, Riku._

"What… does that mean?" Riku whispers to himself as he picks up the note. No matter how many times he looks at the note, from various different angles and even upside-down, the tiny letters remain the same.  
" 'Sora is alive.' " Riku reads out loud, as if this would make the letters change. Then he takes a decision. Ask the King what the note meant.

He figured that if Goofy knew something, then King Mickey should know more. After all, that must be how Goofy was so sure. Sure enough to tell him at the least. But why a note? Was there a reason Goofy didn't just say it to him and explained himself?

Riku just had to know.

"There sure are a lot of rooms…" Riku mutters to himself as he sticks his head out of the door of his room. Each room had different symbols on their doors; his had a large silver heart-shaped lock on its simple wooden door. It looked almost as if that the Gummi ship was basically a hotel with wings.

Walking through the maze of walk ways, Riku quickly got lost.

"Oh great…. And there's no one here." Riku says out loud to himself, making a face and scolding himself internally for getting lost. He felt completely stupid, wandering around like a little kid who'd just lost track of his mom.

"Psst! Over here." A tiny voice whispers as Riku turns the corner. Immediately going on the defensive, Riku removes his Kingdom Key from a holster on his back into his hand.

"Who's there?" He asks calmly as he cautiously starts walking to where he heard the voice.

"Why, Riku! Don't you remember me? It's me, Jiminy Cricket!" The voice says in a slightly scolding voice as Riku finally has the sense to look down. Sure enough, jumping an insanely high distance for his small body size, Jiminy jumps up onto Riku's arm.

"Oh, you're one of Sora's friends. The one that was in his hood all the time." Riku says as he carefully helps the helpless cricket get a good grip on his armband and sit as comfortably as he could.

"Glad I could catch up to ya, Riku. How've you been?" Jiminy asks politely as he starts straightening out his suit and dusting off his top hat.

"I'm fine. And where have you been? I haven't seen you in…." Riku trails off, trying to remember just when the last time he'd seen Jiminy had been. Jiminy just chuckles and smiles.

"I'm a conscience, remember? I'm not supposed to be seen. Anyway, Riku, I came with a message. Did Goofy give it to you?" He asks as he notices the note clutched in Riku's left hand. Riku nods and opens it up again to show the royal chronicler the handwritten note.

"Hmmm…. This is serious! Have you shown it to anybody yet?" Jiminy asks after taking a moment to read it.  
"No. Just you. I was going to show it to the King, but-" Here, Jiminy immediately starts to interrupt.

"No, no, no! Don't show this to his Majesty!" And with that mysterious command, Jiminy takes the paper and stuffs it into his journal.

"Why not though?" Riku asks in confusion, wondering bewilderingly at the cricket's strange behavior. Jiminy coughs nervously, even pulling out a small red handkerchief to wipe at his face.

"Well…. I promised not to tell." Jiminy says finally, looking up at Riku sorrowfully.

"Who'd you promise though?" Riku asks curiously.

"A man named Xoras."

* * *

**Unknown Location**

"You know something? You'll make a wonderful mother, Xion." A teasing voice comments as Xion continues to pour fresh water into a small cup.

"No thanks. I'll stay by myself, thank you very much." She responds without even bothering to turn around to talk to her older companion. She carries the cup to a small table near a bed where her black Organization cloak was slung carefully over a peacefully sleeping figure.

Xion sighs, wondering just what it had been that she had done to deserve an eternity of taking care of a comatose ex-Keyblade Master. It couldn't have been because she left the Organization, right? That was far too obvious.

"He won't wake up…." Xion murmurs as she brushes off a few stray hairs off of the boy's closed eyes. She knew if that he ever awakened completely, they'd be the exact same shade of deep blue hers were and just the same intensity that they were as well.

"Oh, he'll be fine." The man assures her as he watches her ever careful motions. She had grown even quieter during their six months of imprisonment, during which she had somehow decided that Sora was _her _responsibility and that she _had_ to take care of him. It was actually rather annoying or at least he thought so.

"At least you can leave. We can't." Xion says in a sorrowful tone, looking up at him pitifully. He sighs and flicks his own mane of dark brown hair out of his eyes.

"Geez… This is a pain. Can't you two just be revived already?" He mutters darkly as he glares at the sleeping boy in the bed. Xion gives him a mild glare but soon turns back to her ward and helps prop him up into a sitting position. His eyes open slightly, giving him the strange look of a zombie as his dark blue irises glance around vaguely. Xion places the cup to his lips and he drinks the water peacefully, though he manages to spill a small amount on his already tattered clothes.

"Good boy, Sora." Xion tells him as the water seeps into the cloth. He smiles hazily at her and nods.

"He's not a dog, you know." The man snaps angrily as the boy smiles up at him as well. The man sighs again; it seemed that both he and Xion were doing a lot of that lately. Sora was just so helpless; it seemed so bizarre that this infantile boy had once been feared as one of the greatest warriors in all of the realms.

"Yeah…. He's so useless." Xion murmurs, almost as if she had been reading the man's thoughts. He nods and Sora begins to hum to himself quietly.

He had completely retreated into his mind, perhaps to be with the friends that he had been forced to abandon. Both Xion and the cloaked man watch him in silence, smiling when the sixteen year old starts a little clapping game with himself, looking even more like a child than before. Sora continues to smile vaguely at whomever he thought he was playing with, even cracking up into nearly hysterical laughter as his invisible companion says something to him. He soon falls asleep, sleeping as peacefully as a child in his mother's arms.

"You should leave. I can take care of him." Xion tells the man. He gives her a smile.

"Why Xion! Are you getting rid of me?" He asks in a mockingly solemn voice as he gives a sorrowful look. She smiles and the man leans back in his chair, feeling that his job was complete. She shakes her head and then points out to a small window. He follows her finger and then sighs.

"I get the picture…. You know, you should be grateful to me. I _could _have left you in that grave." The man sneers, almost spitefully.

"You wouldn't." Xion responds calmly, looking him directly in the eyes.

"And why is that?" The man demands in a curious tone of voice.

"Because you're like me. You're too honorable." Xion says triumphantly as the man scowls even further.

"Gee… Thanks for having such a high opinion of me." The man says sarcastically, clearly embarrassed about this bit of praise from the usually quiet Nobody.

"You don't deserve it, but that's what I think." Xion retorts as the man sighs.

"I don't deserve it, you got that right. Not after what I've done." The man murmurs mournfully as he raises a hand, almost as if to push an invisible object out of his way. Instead, a large gray haze appears in the room. He quickly vanishes into it, leaving alone with the slumbering Sora.

"Sora… Wake up soon." Xion says to the bed before going to the window to watch the rainbow haze of colors that accompanied the setting sun.


	5. Reasons

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or _EVER _will belong to me.**

**Why hello everybody!**

**I realize now that Kairi can't be emo.**

**Riku can, but not her. I don't understand why people kept asking me whether or not Kairi and Riku switched personalities or something.**

**I say dammit, Riku can be homesick if he wants to! You don't think he doesn't care about his family?**

**And geez, I wrote a lot about Kairi this time around… This was supposed to be about the VILLAINS! How'd it turn out to be about the princess?**

**Anyway, rant over and enjoy the chapter!**

**If you see any spelling mistakes, go ahead and tell me. But don't bitch about it, though.**

**Cause some are intentional.**

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**Gummy Ship**

"A man… named Xoras?" Riku questions as the little cricket on his palm nods solemnly.

"That's right! He asked me to give you the message and to tell you that he'd be comin' in a little bit. That's all I can tell you." Jiminy says as Riku gets quiet and starts to think this over.

Why did the name "Xoras" sound familiar? And why did he get chills when he thought about the name? Did this guy have something to do with Sora?

Then it suddenly hit him.

"Sora's future self! Six months ago… He, Roxas and _my_ future self…. They all came to warn us!" Riku says loudly, nearly knocking Jiminy Cricket off of his hand in his excitement.

"Gosh, really? That explains why I thought he looked real familiar." Jiminy confirms as Riku grins excitedly.

"That means…. He's coming to help us lock up the Keyholes! This is great!" Riku cheers as Jiminy smiles up at him.

"Riku, maybe he's comin' for something else. I remember asking him what he wanted to do and... he said he was lookin' for someone." Jiminy tries to tell Riku but he obviously wasn't listening.

"I should go tell Kairi! Do you know your way around this ship?" Riku asks politely. Jiminy sighs and nods.

"Yup, I've been wandering around for a while. I made a map. See?" Jiminy shows Riku a map scribbled neatly in the pages of his journal. Though it was minuscule, Riku thought he could follow it…. Somehow.

"Alright, to get to the bridge, you go ahead til you reach a passage with two doors. Go into the one on the right." Jiminy reads off and Riku begins to follow his every direction.

"Hmm. You're kind of interesting, Riku." A soft voice says as Riku turns the corner. He looks back and sees no one there.

"Did you say something, Mr. Cricket?" Riku asks and Jiminy shakes his head.

"Did you?" Riku shakes his head and immediately starts moving just a little bit faster as he quickly leaves the hallway behind.

**Northeast Corridor**

"Kairi, are you sure about this? You don't have to come along." King Mickey says in a worried tone as he leads the girl to her room.

"I'm sure, your Majesty. I don't want to come back to the Islands. There's no point." Kairi says icily, a very strange contrast between her normally warm and kind voice. The King just sighs and finally reaches a door with a metallic pink heart on it.

"This one's yours, Kairi. Sorry if there's a mess." Mickey says with a sigh as he opens the door. Kairi peeks in. It was a very neat and organized room, with equally as neat furniture. A small bed was jammed into a corner and there was even a wardrobe for her to put her clothes in. All and all, it was pretty nice room.

"It's great, your Majesty." Kairi says as she drops her bag on the floor area near the bed and lies down herself, happily closing her eyes and sighing in bliss.

"Well, I'll leave you to unpack. See ya later, Kairi!" King Mickey says as he closes the door so she can have some privacy. Kairi watches quietly as the door swings shut and immediately sits up.

"Guess I _should_ unpack… First things first." Kairi tells herself as she swings her legs to the edge of the bed and picks up the pink and black bag. The first thing Kairi pulls out of the bag was a familiar pink mini-dress. She winces the moment she sees it. Running her hands alongside one of the several zippers, she could practically smell the thick coppery aroma of the blood that had stained it nearly black.

"Ugh!" Kairi exclaims in disgust as she starts to gag, throwing the dress as far away from her as possible. After a few moments, the nausea passes.

"Sora, Riku… I don't know what to do anymore." She says bitterly to herself as she forces her body to move across the room, toward the wardrobe and throw the dress inside.

_Well, you should do what you think is right._ Sora's voice echoes inside her mind, sounding as if he was smiling.

"I don't know how." Kairi responds weakly as she closes her eyes and imagines just where they were.

She was back at the islands, the island where they used to play at all the time. Sora and Riku, looking the way they did when they had first journeyed to the other worlds, grin at her from the paopu tree.

"Sure you do. Just do what you always do." Sora tells her as he starts flicking rocks into the water with one lazy hand.

"Hide?" Kairi shoots back bitterly as Sora nearly falls off of the tree at her tone.

"Remember, Kairi. We're not real. All we are is a figment of your imagination. So there's no point on taking your anger out on us." Riku says softly with a sad smile.

"Well…. Why couldn't we stay like this forever? Just you, me, and Sora on the islands. It's not fair…." Kairi asks miserably as she imagines that she takes a seat on the tree. Sora glances up and sighs.

"Cause we're getting older, I guess." He murmurs as all three watch the sun set into the calm waters around the tiny island.

"I'm tired of losing the people I love…. My mom, my dad… My grandmother. And now you, Sora. Am I going to lose Riku, too?" Kairi asks as tears start dripping down her face. Sora and Riku glance at each other as if saying "oh great, what are we supposed to do now?".

"Well, if I was you, I'd start by finding the answers." Riku says calmly. Kairi looks over at him questioningly.

"Yeah! Start by finding the things you can't remember, Kairi. Good plan, Riku." Sora says in a chipper voice as Riku smiles smugly.

"…. The things I don't remember." Kairi repeats in an echo as she suddenly smiles.

"Huh?"

"You're a genius, Riku! I'll go to Radiant Gardens and ask Ansem about my family!" Kairi says in a pleased voice as the two boys smile in relief.

"Well, if you ever need a voice to talk to, remember that we'll always be here, Kairi." Riku says as he gets up, picking up his toy sword as he spoke.

"Yup, we'll always be in your heart, Kairi. See ya later!" Sora calls out as he leaps from the tree and nearly into the water.

"Kairi?" A worried voice questions as Kairi opens her eyes. Riku, the real Riku, was staring at her.

"Um… Hi." Kairi says as she smiles for the first time in months. A real smile.

"Are you okay? I came in and…. You were just talking to yourself." Riku says, starting to blush a little as if he'd just caught Kairi in an embarrassing situation.

"You're a genius. Thanks Riku." Kairi says as she quickly gives him a hug. Obviously shocked, he takes a few moments to hug her back.

"Uh… You're welcome?" Riku says in a very curious voice as he lets go and Kairi stands up.

"I'm not going to be scared anymore… this time, I'll fight for real." Kairi says in a determined voice as Riku just stares at her confusingly.

"All right, guys! This is your mechanics speaking!" A high voice says over a loudspeaker. Kairi and Riku both go into the corridor to listen better.

"Right, and we'll almost be headin' to Disney Castle. We're almost there, folks!" A second voice, slightly huskier than the first, announces cheerfully.

"Chip-n-Dale over and out!" The two say in unison as the loudspeaker switches off with a loud crackle of static.

"That was… interesting." Riku comments as both he and Kairi start laughing.

"I think you're supposed to go to the Bridge, Riku." Jiminy tells them as he pulls out his notebook one more time to guide them.

"Oh, hello, Jiminy. How long have you been there?" Kairi asks. Jiminy sighs.

"It's a long story, Kairi."

**Bridge**

"Gosh, I didn't know what was in that note… Sorry, your Majesty." Goofy apologizes solemnly as King Mickey watches the two teens (and Jiminy Cricket) walk down the corridors of the ship, grinning and teasing each other on a video screen.

"Well, it's done now. We can't tell them what really happened though. Right, Anti?" The King directs this last statement to a small girl who was quietly looking out one of the windows and into space. She glances over.

"Correct, your Highness. I assume that Jiminy got the note from Xoras and in turn gave it to Goofy. I suppose he knew that Goofy wouldn't open it until he gave it to its intended recipient." She says in a sober voice as the King nods.

"And it doesn't help that _YOU'RE_ wanderin' around the ship!" Donald pipes in with a furious glare at the child. She gives him a slightly cruel smile as she takes a single step toward the duck. He immediately backs away.

"We don't need fighting right now, you two. We need to think. Anti, you said you'd help us." King Mickey asks. The girl shakes her head.

"I said that I'd help my friend. Which isn't you. With all due respect, Mouse King." Anti says with a smirk as she enjoys the shocked expressions on both Goofy's and Donald's faces. The king could only nod at her and sigh.

"Sora…. Is he really alive?" He asks. The girl grimaces for a moment before nodding.

"If you can call that state "alive". Farewell, Mickey. I pray that you shall be a better ruler than my creator had been." And with that, the girl promptly vanishes.

"We've got to get those two ready…We need to find Aqua." King Mickey commands in a sharp voice to a second screen. The person on it says nothing but bows deeply and vanishes from view as well.

**

* * *

**

Okay, guys.

**I got bad news. My keyboard's broken and I can barely type with the onscreen one.**

**So, until further notice, I'm off of writing. I'll update as soon as I can.**

**My sincere apologies to all.**


	6. Mission

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or _EVER _will belong to me.**

**MY KEYBOARD IS FIXED! MUHAHAHAHA! **

**Ahem….**

**Let's pretend for a moment that Riku and Kairi don't exist.**

**This chapter is for the people curious about what happened to the Organization.**

**ENJOY! … Kinda!**

**I can't do foreshadowing. I don't know what it is.**

**

* * *

**

**Unknown Castle**

The entire room was painted in a sharp white that seemed to bleach the life out of the few beams of light inside of it. There were no windows. A single wooden door was the only way out of the depressing room which locked and sealed itself each time anyone left the prisonlike room. To anyone who walked inside, an immediate air of human sadness and despair seemed to flow in the very air.

In the farthest corners of the room were twelve neat and very slightly dusty glass structures in the shape of a box or perhaps more like a coffin. In each foggy gray case, a single person lay sleeping.

None of the figures moved much; they would have almost seemed like the most lifelike of statues if not for the movement of their chests rising and falling with their breathing. They all seemed to be experiencing their own set of strange dreams, whether happy or sad it was unclear.

"Well, good morning, everyone." A gentle voice calls to them in a cheerful tone as a boy calmly walks in to see them. He was completely unaffected by the strange atmosphere of the room and marched right up to the cases. He pauses between a young man with dark blue hair and another with hair like flames. Neither stirred as the boy taps on their cases with one gloved covered hand.

"Hmm. Looks like Lea won't be waking up with the others. Poor thing…" The boy muses to himself, smiling sadly at the red-haired boy who continues to slumber unconcernedly. The red-haired boy smiles vaguely in his sleep. Something in his dream pleased him.

"I hope you sleep well, my dear friend. You won't be waking up for a good while. I suppose you'll miss all the fun, too." The boy tells Lea before turning to the rest of the group.

Each person seemed vaguely familiar. And each one wore the same black cloak-like jacket, in various lengths and styles. There was an older man who looked like he was in his late forties at the least who wore his jacket in a lab coat sort of style where it reached about halfway down his legs and at the other end a boy who looked only about ten whose jacket was a great deal shorter than all the others and barely reached his waist. All the rest though looked as if they were in their teens or perhaps early twenties.

"Awaken Organization XIII. Your worlds need you." The boy commands as he flicks his golden hair out of his dark silver eyes.

As if these words were a trigger, nearly every single person, except for the boy named Lea, opened their eyes.

For the briefest moment, eleven pairs of eyes stared in shock at the boy who only gave a cheeky bow to them.

After a moment, the silence was broken abruptly.

"LET US OUTTA HERE!" A girl snarls viciously as she starts to pound roughly against her prison. The others try to glance over to where her voice was coming from as the boy presses a

switch at the side of the rows of containers. Instantly each case opens.

"Gee, what a great nap!" One young man yawns as he ruffles his dark black hair and grins cockily at the group. The girl who had spoken before looks around curiously.

"Where are we?" She questions savagely to her companions but none can give her a straight answer. No one answers her right away; they instead begin to shiver as the icy atmosphere in the room begins to affect each and every one of them in their own way. They begin to remember strange memories, dark places they would have paid dearly to forget.

"Hmm…. Maybe it's like a hotel!" one boy with sandy blonde hair suggests with a cheerful smile. He was the one shivering the most, drawing his black jacket tighter and tighter around his thin form.

"Are you some kind of idiot, _loser_?" The girl snaps at him, rolling her dark green eyes at his idiocy.

"Um… My name's Myde! What's yours?" Myde asks instead, barely even registering that she had insulted him.

"It's Arlene. You better remember that; I don't like telling people twice." Arlene says grudgingly as she flicks a few strands of bright yellow hair out of her face. At this, the boy who had released them chuckles. Each person turns to look at him.

"Welcome to Veritas, Organization XIII. I hope you've enjoyed your stay." He says cheerfully. He snaps his fingers and a screen appears in the room.

"Huh?"

"Why don't we catch up on what you don't remember, my dear friends?" An image appears on the screen and everyone in the room turns to look. The image of a glorious castle appears with a peaceful looking town surrounding it is shown briefly.

"That's Radiant Gardens." The older man says icily, giving the strange boy a suspicious glare. The boy glances over.

"You may call me Dai, Mister Even. Yes, this is Radiant Gardens; the home world of many of you here." 'Dai' explains calmly. Myde raises his hand cautiously as if he was at school.

"Uh… I'm not from there. I'm from-" He begins to explain when Dai interrupts him.

"Yes, you're from Intermezzo Cove. I know." Myde nods, not questioning how this boy who he never met before in his life knew the name of his town.

"Six of you here were the apprentices of a great and wise leader, appropriately and perhaps not very modestly named Ansem the Wise. Your names are Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus and Ienzo, if I'm not mistaken." Six of the awakened eleven nod. A boy with dark blue hair watches the image of the Gardens in a sort of trance before giving out an audible yelp.

"What is it, Isa?" Dai asks him.

"Lea! He's… He was in the Castle with me! We were going to go get help from Ansem the Wise and… and…" Isa trails off, narrowing his eyes in confusion as he tries to remember just what had happened.

"Ah, I was getting to that part. Well, due to the influence of one of your fellow apprentices, Xehanort, you apprentices ended up destroying your town and creating creatures known as the Heartless. Am I correct so far?" Though Dai mentions this very casually, a solemn looking young man shuffles his feet nervously and coughs.

"Yes." A very tall and extremely strong looking man says in a rumbling voice. Arlene instantly backs away from him, apparently not wanting to get crushed by the large person.

"Ah, Aeleus. Ansem's fifth apprentice. You and your…let's say associates ended up losing your hearts, didn't you? You became Nobodies." Dai says with a sympathetic smile. Aeleus nods solemnly.

"But what is a Nobody?" The youngest member in the group asks. He was a very solemn looking boy with dark purplish hair. Dai glances at him.

"For Ienzo's sake, I suppose I must explain this. A Nobody is a creature with no Heart; it is the empty shell of a person with an extraordinarily strong Heart. You all became such creatures." Everyone in the room didn't seem the least bit surprised.

"And now, since I was the one who so generously brought you your Hearts and collected your Souls, you all work for me now." Dai says calmly as he rubs his hands together in eagerness.

"There's always a catch, isn't there?" Braig says with a cocky grin. His scarred face showed signs that he was an experienced fighter though there was an extremely mischievous look in his remaining eye. Dai grins back at him.

"Yes, there always is. Now, your first job involves someone very important to a friend of mine." He says calmly as a new image appears on the screen. It was of a quiet street bathed in the soothing reddish-gold light of the setting sun. There was no one in the alley like street except for a boy with dark gold hair calmly walking home from school. He looked very solemn and quiet, much like the town itself.

"Uh… A kid?" Isa asks in confusion. Dai smiles.

"Keep watching." A second after those words were uttered, a man with bright red hair greets the boy with a confident grin. They immediately start chatting as they begin to walk home together. Isa's eyes widen in shock as he glances over to where Lea was sleeping.

"H-H-How…But he's in here!" He stammers as he raps his knuckles against the glass. Inside Lea twitches slightly at the noise and then continues to sleep peacefully. Dai chuckles coldly.

"Your first instinct is to get your friend back, isn't it?" He asks in a completely different tone and voice than he had been speaking with originally. Isa nods. Dai smiles wickedly.

"Good. Your job is to eliminate Roxas and Naminé and get Lea's Heart back from the Nobody Axel. Can you handle that, Isa, Braig and Arlene?" The three mentioned jump slightly.

"By eliminate… you mean _kill_?" Arlene asks nervously. Dai nods.

"You cannot honestly think that I'll kill Lea, do you?" Isa says in an icy voice, giving the boy a furious glare. He was just about to punch the mysterious kid when Dai snaps his fingers. Instantly a black tendril of smoke wraps around the cases. Everyone freezes.

"I tried to be kind and negotiate. Now I see that I'll have to do this the hard way. Either you bring me Axel, Roxas and Naminé or Lea dies fully and completely along with the rest of you pathetic little Nobody has-beens. Do you understand you three?" Arlene glances nervously over at Lea's case and nods.

"Fine. I ain't having someone's blood on my hands if I can help it. Even if I don't know what's going on." She says in a reluctant tone.

"This kiddo's from my hometown. You think I'll let ya pulverize 'im? I'll do your little job, bucko." Braig says in an offbeat voice. He didn't seem to really care either way.

"Fine." Isa says in a defeated tone of voice. His shoulders slump down as if he had suddenly been given a heavy burden to bear.

"Good. Then we'll give you your weapons back and you can be sent on your way. As for the rest of you, you'll be sent back to your home worlds." Dai says as he turns away from them and starts leading them out of the room. Numbly, everyone follows.

"Lea, we will be home soon. I promise." Isa says over his shoulder as Arlene and Braig escort him out.

Behind them, the image of Axel and Roxas continues to play with the pair cheerfully joking around and laughing inaudibly until the screen cracks into a pattern not unlike a spider's web. It shatters violently, leaving nothing of the screen except a smoking frame and millions of tiny fragments scattered in gleaming outlines on the tiles of the chamber.


	7. Reflections

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or _EVER _will belong to me.

And yadda yadda yadda…

I'm pretty sure no one reads this anyore but I hate to leave a story unfinished.

So enjoy whoever's left!

* * *

**Gummi Ship: Ship's Bridge**

"You called, your Majesty?" Kairi asks politely. The King nods solemnly at the trio and he points out the window. They look.

"We'll be reaching Master Yen Sid's Tower soon, so I want you two to be prepared." Mickey says in a calm voice.

Sure enough, when the teens peek behind the tiny King, they could see a somewhat crooked, golden-brown tower topped with a blue cone-shaped roof getting larger and larger as the ship speeds towards it.

They straighten up and look at the King expectedly.

"Riku, Kairi… This will be the beginning of your quest." He continues. Riku nods.

"Don't worry; we can handle it." He says confidently. King Mickey just looks even more worried.

"Right. But you still need a teacher." The King says in a commanding tone of voice.

"Um… why can't _you _teach us, Your Majesty?" Kairi asks curiously. The King shakes his head.

"You need a proper teacher," Was all he would say before Chip and Dale call out in unison:

"We're here! Welcome to the Mysterious Tower!" Chip and Dale say in chipper voices. Kairi and Riku immediately run to one of the bigger windows to get a better look before they landed.

The Tower itself was a strangely crooked behemoth of a tower which rested on a small floating island complete with a courtyard and several trees.

Each of the world's towers were topped with blue cone-shaped turret roofs, decorated with moons and stars like a stereotypical wizard's cap.

"It sure looks weird- OW!" Riku yelps as Donald smacks him in the small of his back with his mage's staff.

"Don't be rude! This is Master Yen Sid's house!" Donald tells him in a superior voice as he twirls the staff idly in one hand. Riku mutters something under his breath but does nothing to retaliate.

Kairi giggles but soon puts on a solemn face when Riku gives her a look.

"Sorry." She says as she begins to laugh again.

"Alright fellahs. Let's go see Master." King Mickey says to the group as they turn to look at him. The little mouse king was smiling broadly, suddenly happy about something.

"Huh?" Riku asks in confusion but the King shakes his head and grabs Riku's wrist gently.

"Please, Riku, I made a promise." With that, he lets go and starts walking towards the door.

"A promise? To who?" Riku questions but the King leaves, leaving Riku to wonder just what that meant. Donald and Goofy glance at each other secretively before they both team up to shove Riku towards the door.

"Time to go, Riku!" Donald scolds as he shoves Riku that much harder.

"Ow! I'm going!" Riku protests as he jumps out of the Bridge and into the soft grass below the landed ship.

"Hahaha!" Kairi says in a teasing voice as she walks down a small lift to the ground. Riku makes a face but then the King makes a yelping sound in surprise.

"You again?" He demands as the Kingdom Key D flashes into existence in Mickey's hand. The figure who had been exiting the Tower smiles coldly underneath his black hood.

"Shouldn't that be my line? Geez… it's like you're a stalker, King." The boy says in a mocking deep voice that sounded oddly familiar. Riku summons his own Keyblade and moves in front of Kairi.

"Hm? Oh, look! You've got a little Keyblade wimp with you, your Majesty! How _sweet_." The boy sneers as a second figure emerges from the Tower.

"Keyxs, enough. We have our orders." The girl murmurs in a soft voice as she grabs her companion by the shoulder. He shrugs her off.

"Right, the other one... Heh, sorry to chat and run but I've got bigger fish to fry. See ya, Mouse King!" 'Keyxs' taunts as his body is engulfed by darkness.

"Wait!" Riku snarls as he rushes forward, suddenly angry for no reason. The girl stands in front of the Corridor and blocks his way.

"Don't try to fight him yet, Riku. He's too strong right now. Find your own strength first." The girl says in that same voice. Riku recognizes her.

"Are you… Xi-?" He begins to ask. The girl bows her head as if in shame.

"I wish you luck, Keyblade Master." The girl says as she drops something at Riku's feet. She vanishes into the Corridor and then it dissolves back into the ground.

"Hey! Xion!" Riku calls out but the two teens were already gone. King Mickey walks up to Riku.

"You… know that one?" He asks in a shocked voice. Riku nods and bends down to pick up the small charm that Xion had dropped into the dirt. It was a crude little wooden diamond, as if the person who had made it from a vague memory. It seemed familiar…

"I think… Xion… she was-" Riku babbles in confusion, staring at the strange charm. King Mickey shakes his head.

"The one who died before? This is worse than I thought… He made two of them." The King mutters to himself in a worried voice.

"What does _that _mean?" Riku asks in a suspicious voice. The King says nothing but instead hurries to the Tower, running as fast as his short legs could take him.

"Your Majesty!" Donald and Goofy cry out in unison as everyone starts running.

* * *

The inside of the tower was a blur of stars and moon as they rush up the hundreds of stairs.

The King doesn't even stop, not even when small Shadow Heartless begin to appear. He simply slices through them in one swift motion as he continues to run.

"Master!" He cries out when he reaches the very top room.

"Oh no." Kairi says as she sees the almost completely destroyed study. The desk was overturned, the dozens of colorfully bound books that had once so neatly lined the shelves were ripped into meaningless shreds of paper and bindings, and Yen Sid himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Master…" King Mickey says in a heartbroken voice, tumbling to his knees in shock. Riku puts his hand on the small King's shoulder in an effort to comfort him.

"I'm sorry." Riku says but the King just stands up, grim determination shining on his face.

"They'll _pay _for this." He snarls as his Keyblade flashes back into his hand. The tiny King had never looked so serious or so enraged before.

"Mickey? Oh, your Majesty, is that you?" A muffled voice asks.

"Flora?" Mickey asks as he looks around.

"Do not move another step, my friend." a man's voice says in a scolding way.

"… Master?" King Mickey asks in an unsure voice as he looks around. There was still no one in the room.

"Oooh! When I get my hands on those little Heartless, I'm gonna-!" A third voice says threateningly.

"Merryweather!" A fourth feminine voice scolds.

"A moment please…" The man's voice says as four small specks crawl out of an overturned tea cup. The group watches in fascination as a bright blue flash engulfs the tea cup and a small, huddled group steps out of it.

"Mickey, it is good to see you, my dear friend." The sole man of the group comments as he wipes at his face with a quickly becoming soaked handkerchief. It looked as if the tea cup hadn't exactly been completely empty when they had hidden inside it.

"Ma-Master Yen Sid!" Mickey says in complete relief as he grabs at his old teacher's hands. The wizard smiles kindly and uses one hand to begin manipulating the mangled objects in the room to start repairing themselves.

"Welcome my friends." The wizard says in a kind tone. He was a rather severe-looking old man with long, grey hair, bushy eyebrows, and a long, grey beard that parts down the middle. He wore a rather stereotypical cone shaped wizard's cap, midnight blue with golden stars and moons. A sky blue robe with tints of red on the inside completed the wizard's outfit, and gave him a type of mystical and whimsical air to him.

"Are… are you Master Yen Sid? You don't really look much like a real wizard." Riku asks bluntly. Donald and Goofy gasp slightly at his words but Yen Sid merely chuckles.

"I've been expecting you, Keyblade Master Riku." Yen Sid says, bowing his head slightly. Riku bows back and smiles slightly. He was still suspicious about the old man, but if the King was willingly to trust him, so was he.

"Um, it's nice to meet you, sir." Kairi butts in, not wanting to be left out of the talk. The sorcerer smiles and bows deeply to her.

"Welcome to my humble home, dear Princess." He says smoothly. Kairi bows as well.

"Master, I-" King Mickey starts to say but Yen Sid raises a hand.

"You must get going soon, Mickey. Time is running short… and we still need to complete the fragments. Let Aqua handle the children from now on. You have enough worries." The sorcerer says in a slightly worried tone. The King bows and takes a seat on one of the over-turned chairs. Everyone follows his example and sits down.

"It would seem that the task of instructing you and your friends has fallen upon my shoulders. You have a perilous journey ahead of you. You must be well prepared." The wizard warns sternly. They all nod in agreement.

"Yes sir. We're ready to fight!" Riku says eagerly. He flinches when Yen Sid gives him an icy cold glare.

"You must choose your battles wisely, Master Riku. Not all is as it appears nor appears as it is." He says mysteriously. The old man stands up and walks over to a shelf.

"Uh…" Riku watches him as the sorcerer removes a single book from the shelf, he then hands it to Mickey.

"Use it well." The King bows deeply to his former teacher before leaving the room with Donald and Goofy. Yen Sid turns his gaze to Riku.

"Come with me." He orders as he stands up and walks to a large covered mirror. It was the one object in the room that had not been disturbed. Riku silently does as he asks.

"Um… what does-" Kairi's question is silenced by Yen Sid's hand.

"Riku, please step in front of that mirror. You shall see something quite interesting." He says in a strangely sorrowful tone, as if he knew something that he did not want the others to here. Riku steps in front of the mirror.

It was a very tall mirror; at least three feet taller than Riku himself. The giant mirror was covered up by a huge blue cloth which like most of the Tower was embroidered with moons and stars. It seemed as if the sorcerer himself was embarrassed by the strange object. Perhaps this was the reason for it being covered up.

Yen Sid bows his head to Riku and grabs one corner of the midnight cloth.

"Remove the cover; he should appear momentarily."

"He?" Kairi asks as Riku and Yen Sid remove the cover in a single long sweeping motion. It looked like an ordinary mirror. Riku could see his reflection but not the background around him. Even with Kairi leaning over his shoulder, he couldn't see her either. He places one hand onto the smooth glass.

"Everything in your journey is connected through you and your friends, Riku. Whether you shall return to your Islands with your friend Sora and with Kairi. And whether or not the very fact of the Islands will even still be there is no mere coincidence. It is your destiny, Riku." Yen Sid says, ignoring Kairi's question. He stares solemnly into the mirror, as if waiting for something.

"I'll return with my friends?" Riku asks in astonishment, taking his eyes off the mirror and looking at Yen Sid.

"Or whether or not you shall return alone." The sorcerer says gravely as Riku suddenly feels someone's fingers slipping in between his own.

Riku watches as his reflection warps and turns into a younger version of himself of when he was fifteen.

His doppelgänger wore the familiar form-fitting suit that Riku had worn when he was under the control of Ansem the seeker of Darkness. The blood red Heartless emblem contrasts harshly against the dark colors of purple and black as the reflection tilts its head as if in mild confusion.

"What.. What is that?" Riku demands as he tries to back away from it. The reflection grips his hand even tighter, the vacant emotion in its face suddenly clearing. It contorts into an expression of pure rage.

"That is a question I do not know the answer to." Yen Sid says as he backs away from the mirror.

"Riku!" Kairi exclaims as she tries to step forward. The reflection raises its hand and a crystalline barrier appears in the middle of the room.

"Stay back!" Riku snarls as he struggles furiously against the mirror's grip. The doppelganger reaches through the thick glass and grabs Riku by the throat. Silently and without speaking, the mirror image pulls Riku through, beyond the looking glass.


	8. Platform

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or EVER will belong to me.

And yadda yadda yadda…

Note: Reflection, Doppelganger and copy are all being used to describe the Riku from the mirror.

Now that we have that cleared up…

I hope you enjoy!

(YES I KNOW IT'S SHORT!)

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_**Falling... falling into darkness...**_

All Riku can feel is the rush of darkness around him, and the peculiar feeling of being propelled through water. He glances at his body and blinks in surprise. Clouds of silver bubbles, as if he really was underwater, were trailing from his limbs. But he could breathe just fine.

Or he would if that doppelganger would let go of him.

"LET GO!" Riku snarls as he roughly grabs at the reflection's wrists. The copy just lets go.

"How pathetic… Chasing shadows when you should be fighting. Hmph. I pity you." The copy says in a mocking tone.

"What are you talking about?" Riku demands sharply and he tries to summon his Kingdom Key.

A flash of light surrounds his hand… but it splutters out before the Key could appear.

"Sorry. In a sanctuary… no fake weapons allowed." The doppelganger smirks and points beneath him.

Riku sees a bright light underneath him. He had been falling backwards, but he flips over and lands delicately on his feet. The Doppelganger just lands onto the platform.

"Welcome… to your Awakening, loser."

Beneath them, the platform begins to shine brightly as white birdlike forms fly off of it, revealing bright hues and gleaming glass.

At the same time, the doppelganger's body is engulfed in a huge wispy cloud of pure darkness. When it clears, a different boy smiles cruelly at him.

"My name is Vanitas. I've been waiting a very long time to talk with you, Riku." He says in an arrogant voice.

"Sora?" Riku demands in shock as he backs away.

They looked almost identical; the same height, the same hair, even how they stood was exactly the same.

The differences were just as obvious: Vanitas had much darker hair and his eyes gleamed with a strange yellow light.

And he looked much more powerful than Sora had ever did.

"You mean the little kid? Sorry but no. I'm different from that little Wielder. Now then, shall we get started with your little party?" Vanitas asks in a bored tone as he points to the floor again. Riku takes a look and flinches.

. It was an image of himself on what looked like Destiny Islands. He was leaning against the paopu tree and had his eyes closed. In his right hand was the Kingdom Key, and in the other was his Way To The Dawn, which was bizarre considering it had vanished the night Sora had died.

In small circles around his bowed head, Sora's, the King's and Kairi's images solemnly stare up to the duo.

The entire platform was dark with a royal purple color and the Heartless symbol dotted the stained glass circles surrounding the image of Riku.

"An Awakening. What does that mean?" Riku asks suspiciously as he looks up to Vanitas with a furious glare.

Vanitas shrugs and says nothing. He looks around carefully, studying his surroundings with vague interest.

Riku on the other hand, was twitchy and antsy. He was completely defenseless without his Keyblade and if Vanitas decided to attack... there was no way a few barely memorized spells would stop the kid.

Vanitas growls in his throat and summons up a black Keyblade, its crimson outline glimmers oddly in the near darkness. He glares viciously at something a few feet above Riku's head.

"Ugh! So much to do, and so little time…" A deep voice muses from behind Riku. Instantly, Riku whips around to see a man in a long white cloak similar to an Organization cloak. Vanitas shifts slightly, as if getting ready to attack.

"Oh, not you again. Can't you go bother some other Keyblade Wielder?" Vanitas sneers mockingly as his grip on the Keyblade tightens very slightly. The hooded man chuckles.

"Nah, Riku's my special project. Can't let a buddy die, you know. Now, let's see… Why don't we… _Open the door_?" The man's voice goes even deeper and harsh as a strange gray light surrounds the platform.

"Oh goodie, I didn't know I even _could _do that! It must be his influence… And oh, before I forget…" The man takes off his hood and Riku recoils instantly.

"No way." Riku says in astonishment as the man runs a hand through his spiky mane of dark brown hair.

"So... Riku...Did you get my note?" Xoras asks with a mischievous smile.

Behind them, in the abyss of nothingness that surrounded wherever they were, a deafening roar echoes throughout the emptiness that surrounded the Awakening platform.


	9. Choices

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or **_**EVER **_**will belong to me.**

**And yadda yadda yadda…**

**These chapters might (definitely) contain spoilers for Kingdom Hearts I, II and Birth By Sleep.**

**Heck, it probably has spoilers for the other in-between games too!**

**(I know the names for the Keyblades suck!)**

**

* * *

****Awakening**

The cheerful smile of Xoras quickly fades as Riku and Vanitas both stare at him suspiciously.

"Gee, don't I feel welcome? Lucky me; I gotta come all this way only to get scowled at by two snot nosed little kiddies… just my luck. I don't got time for this." Xoras says in a bored tone. Riku notices a slightly strange accent in the man's voice; it barely even resembled his own voice, which was weird considering they were both from the same world.

Xoras walks briskly over to the exact center of the Platform and looks around as if waiting for something.

"Man, it _would _be like him not show. Hmph." Xoras says in a mocking voice as he turns back to the two teens.

Vanitas glares at him with obvious hatred; Riku with suspicion.

Xoras laughs as he stares right back, mockingly.

"Gee, no need to get all serious on me! I'm here to help ya out, Riku!" Instantly, Riku gets a bad feeling from the extremely casual way that Xoras had said this.

Xoras somehow manages to move so fast that Riku wasn't able to see his steps and is soon right in front of him.

He grabs Riku by the scruff of his shirt and stares directly into Riku's eyes.

Riku recoils from Xoras's face; a thin and jagged scar traces down the man's face right down to his jaw line.

It contorts his face into a permanent whimsical half smile.

"Tell me; did you protect her?" Xoras whispers in a soft voice as his grip on Riku's shirt tightens.

The sad way he says this makes Riku shiver.

"I'm… trying." He answers but at that moment Xoras shakes his head.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for everything, Riku. Hope ya can forgive me one day….Thunderja." Xoras adds this last word almost as if in an afterthought.

Instantly a ball of sparking blue electricity emerges from Xoras's free hand, slamming into Riku's chest.

He's completely unable to move even when Xoras throws him over the platform.

He watches the fragment of the fight between Vanitas and Xoras as both of them attack each other in almost perfect unison, throwing their blade and using the most powerful spells at their disposal in order to get rid of their enemy.

The continuing flashes of light and darkness dance and dazzle Riku's eyes as he tumbles down into the Darkness.

He has no idea just how long he falls into that deep Darkness.

He can feeling it crawling all over him, the bitter taste of metal as his senses become heightened by this continuous contact, the reeking smell of something rotting, something sickly sweet.

As he continues to tumble down, the ache for light becomes unbearable.

He's almost relieved when he slams down onto the next platform.

An unfeeling moan escapes his lips as the last prickles of numbness escapes his body.

Riku sits up and stares at the platform he was on.

It was Kairi perched against a wall in what looked Radiant Gardens from the shape on the towers in the background.

A small familiar charm was wrapped around her wrist, a star shaped figure with a thick chain connecting it to Kairi. Her eyes were half opened and there was a blank look on the image's features.

Around her, several little circles had the faces of people dear to her. Riku, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Namine and Roxas were all included.

The softness of the pale blue platform seems to suit Kairi perfectly.

"Kairi…" Riku says as he lightly touches the image's cheek. He feels nothing but the coolness of glass.

A soft chuckle emerges from somewhere around him. Riku's instantly on his guard but there was no one there.

_Don't be afraid. Your door is still remains shut. Now, why don't you step forward? Can you even do it?_

A rather deep voice demands coldly.

Riku stands up quickly but again, there was no one there.

He was alone.

_Just like before, Riku. There's no one here to aid you. You are denied even the desire of seeing her again this time. _

The voice says in a harsh way.

"Who are you?" Riku demands as he takes a single step forward.

A flash of heat suddenly overpowers him as he sways slightly on his feet.

The voice laughs.

_Well, was that so hard? You've taken the first step, Riku; the first step of a very long journey._

Riku shakes his head viciously and glares around him.

"I want a name!" He demands coldly. Even without a weapon, he felt that whoever had been sent to torment him could be easily cut down.

_This is your story; not mine. My name is not the least bit important. _

The voice says in a teasing sort of way.

"Story?" Riku asks in suspicion.

_Yes; a story. Your story; the story of how you became a fierce warrior, Guardian of Light. How it ends I do not know but I do know that you gain your Heart's true desire._

"Wh-What?" Riku stammers out in confusion.

The voice laughs again.

_Onto business then, shall we? If you give your light form... It will give you strength. Choose well, Riku._

At these words, three stones appear.

Each stone had a different Keyblade in it; a graceful blue one that looked more like a wand than a sword, gleaming with the promise of untold wisdom and of the strength of the mind; a gleaming red Key that forged heavily and sturdily, one of untold power and the vow of unimaginable courage; a much more clumsily made Keyblade of the softest of golden metal, this one was gentle and kind, one that spoke of protection and the strength of the protection of one's most precious people.

Each had the same shape of a simple Key but each had its own unique qualities that had separated it from the others.

"I have to pick?" Riku asks as he stares at the gleaming Keys. Each one seemed to demand his attention, he kept having to shift his gaze from one to the next and to the next.

The voice chuckles.

_Yes, these were all forged just for you. Would you like the names?_

When Riku doesn't answer, the voice continues.

_The Mage's Wisdom._

_The Warrior's Valor._

_The Guardian's Limit._

With each name stated, the Keyblades gleam strangely as if the invoking of their names gave them renewed strength.

"I'm supposed to pick…?" Riku asks again as he takes a few steps towards the Keyblade nearest to him.

The Guardian's Limit sparkles with a gentle glow as Riku curls his fingers around the hilt of the Key.

Strange power sparks within his hand as the Keyblade's strength flows through him; images begins to flash through his mind, images of his journey through the worlds with the King, his home, of Kairi, of Sora, of his parents….. The things most precious to him.

_The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repeal all. Is that the power you seek? _

The voice questions gently.

Riku smiles sadly as he lets of the Keyblade.

"I'm not exactly the kind of guy…. To be able to protect someone like that." He remarks in a self-depreciating way, scolding himself slightly, as he reaches for the slender hilt of The Mage's Wisdom.

Powerful energy flows through that connection as Riku's mind fills with images again.

Images of himself, of being powerful, of being able to do the most incredible things, images of him fighting against Heartless using that profound strength of mind. Of freedom from his worry, knowing that his strength alone would be enough.

_The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you choose?_

The voice questions again.

Riku lets go of the Key and laughs.

"Sorry, but I like something a bit more _real _than that kind of magic." Riku says with a smile.

The voice chuckles a bit then says:

_I had the feeling you would say that…. After all, I know you very well, Riku._

At that moment, Riku feels that he knows the person who was speaking.

"Who-?" He begins to ask but the voice interrupts:

Please, the next one. I haven't much time.

Riku nods, not totally sure that the man could even see him, and wraps his hand around the hilt of The Warrior's Valor.

A single image comes to his mind: one of a small boy running from something.

The boy was crying uncontrollably as he half-carries, half-drags a very familiar Keyblade behind him, leaving a clear trail in the dirt as he runs.

"Way to the Dawn?" Riku cries out in astonishment. He lets go of the Keyblade and stares at it in confusion.

With a single fierce tug, Riku pulls out the gleaming red Keyblade out of its stone.

_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. You have chosen well. _

The voice comments in amusement.

"Who was that boy? And why does he have my Keyblade?" Riku demands coldly.

_That boy… is the thief who has stolen your Keyblade. Even now, he slumbers with the anticipation of returning his prize back to its original owner. His ongoing guilt led him to rob you, Riku, though he did leave his own weapon in exchange._

_He wants to meet you, Riku._

The voice explains in a very loving tone as if he was speaking about his own child.

"Is that why…. Why Sora's Keyblade won't work for me? Because mine's out with that boy?" Riku asks next, feeling slightly ashamed as he runs his fingers along the jagged head of The Warrior's Valor.

_Yes._

_It does not want to be connected to you, Riku. As long as its master still lives, it shall continue to fight you._

The voice explains calmly.

Riku lifts up his new Keyblade and turns it slightly in the light.

The crimson blade gleams as if eager to do what Riku commanded, eager to see some action.

"Tell me what I have to do then." Riku says in an emotionless voice.

_Hmm? Pardon?_

"Tell me what I have to do… in order to return that Keyblade to its master." Riku says coolly.

The voice chuckles as if amused.

_Do you remember the letter that the King sent you?_

It asks.

"Yeah. I remember it." Riku says impatiently, waiting for the voice to get to the point.

_Recite it for me and I shall tell you what to do._

"I can't remember it! All I remember is something about Sora being the only one who could heal their sadness…. Something about memories inside our hearts!" Riku cries out in desperation, getting completely sick and tired of this "Awakening" business.

The voice makes a soft scoffing sound.

_I see. Very well, one last question before you go: What is your home like?_

Riku looks around in confusion at this.

"What?"

_Your home. Would you describe it for me?_

The voice asks again, sounding mildly embarrassed at having to ask.

"Uh… it's real quiet and peaceful. There's lots of palm trees everywhere." Riku says warily.

_I do not mean the physical features; I mean how it made you feel._

The voice clarifies.

"As if… everything was safe; as if nothing would ever change. That's how the islands feel." Riku says in a homesick voice, wondering why it felt so bad now to have left the islands. Before, he couldn't stop wondering what waited out there and was so eager to get off of the tiny rock of an island that he had been born on.

Now… it felt dishonorable and lonely as if he was leaving on an extremely long journey that might last forever.

That he would not be able to come back home, that he was never coming home.

_I know the perfect place for him then. Thank you, Riku._

_The memories hidden from you have been unlocked now, my friend._

_I wish you well, Guardian of Light._

The voice says as a soothing light surrounds Riku, sending him off to a gentle sleep on top of the platform.

He does not stir for a very long time, not even when someone places a small plate of white armor onto his shoulder.

The armored plate and The Warrior's Valor gleam in unison, as if recognizing each other as pieces of the same person.

* * *

"It is finished. He is empty now." The boy murmurs in a weak voice. It had taken a lot more power than he'd originally expected to reach Riku. He turns his gaze back to the bed and watches silently as Sora, finally and completely, shuts his eyes.

The blankness that had been dispersing throughout the sleeping teen's face had finally stopped.

The once strong warrior was now more or less completely helpless; even the angelic wing and demonic winged blade that he had was beginning to weaken as its "new owner's" power ebbs away.

"My apologies, Sora. I shall begin your new life immediately." Dai tells the slumbering boy as he straightens up the clutter of plastic cups and plates that Xion, who in trying to be helpful to the ill Sora, had scattered around Sora's bed.

Xion soon walks in and notices the peaceful smile on the ex-Keyblade Master's face. Her own face darkens as Dai turns to look at her.

"You know what has to happen now." Dai says with a sad smile. Xion doesn't return the kind gesture and only drops the cup of water she had been bringing to the ground.

The cheerful blue of the cup crumbles slightly as the clear liquid inside splashes out and soaks the ground beneath her.

"He's gone now, isn't he." Xion says in a toneless voice. She doesn't ask; she merely states the question.

Dai nods.

"Yes, Xion. You must decide now. Ion's already becoming curious about your old-" Xion laughs bitterly, interrupting Dai's speech.

"Did you plan this? For me to meet Roxas and Axel again? For me to fake my own death to protect Sora? Was this all some kind of sick little game to you? You piss me off!" Xion snarls as her hand flashes with a clear strong white light.

However, the weapon that she had wanted to summon refuses to appear; she drops her hand and stares defiantly at Dai.

The seemingly young boy smiles with a strange smile; one full of wisdom that no teenager should be able to possess.

"No, it was not a game. I will admit that I have become rather fond of you, Xion. Much more than I would have hoped to have been. But that does not change anything. You will have to disappear now that your purpose has been fulfilled." Dai says in a emotionless voice.

Xion smiles now; a cold and bitter smile full of the knowledge that she now knew. It didn't seem to matter; she was about to be destroyed.

"You have a choice now, Xion." Dai says next.

Xion flinches and looks at him in confusion.

The boy sweeps an arm around the nearly empty room; nothing but the simple bed which Sora currently occupied, a strange blade in the shape of wings, and the table which Dai had worked on Sora's subconscious. There were no decorations, no color, and no emotions in that room.

"You can decide… whether or not you wish to remain by Sora's side, the one who helped create you, or whether you shall journey to find your friends." As Dai spoke, two different images appeared on the tiled floor.

Sora and Xion, now sharing almost identical features, laugh together as they walk down a strange and unfamiliar street, seemingly calling out to someone who couldn't be seen in the picture.

A second one was of her and Roxas; the two of them were side by side, fighting Heartless together. The twin shadows of smiles on the two friends' faces had a clear meaning of both the most rapt of joy and the harshest of sorrow, of the most agonizing of pain and the most thrilling of pleasure, the most satisfying of friendships and the most bitter of loneliness.

They both wore the same black uniform just as they had when they were together in the Organization. The two imaged ex-Organization members fought in unison with a strange grace; they both moved with calculating precision, easily cutting down through wave after wave of Heartless in near perfect unison.

Xion smiles sadly at both images, reaching out to touch the image of one of her dearest friends. The image of Roxas looks up, almost as if it knew that she was there. It reaches out with one gloved hand and looks at her pleadingly.

His lips move soundlessly but she couldn't tell what he was trying to say.

She turns from that picture and looks at the version of herself pictured there.

It had he same black hair as she had now, but the deepest of green eyes now depicted the happy and carefree girl she say.

Sora, now with the same dark hair and gleaming emerald eyes, laughs as he slips his arm into Xion's as they both look up to the real Xion's gaze and wave cheerfully.

Sora says something , but just as with the Roxas image, Xion can't tell what he was trying to say.

"I hate you so much." Xion says in the softest of whispers as a tear rolls down her cheek. She shakes her head and points to one of the images with one shaking finger.

Dai smiles sadly.

"I was hoping that you would pick the other one, my dear friend." He says as he reaches out his hand to Xion's face.

A strange light illuminate Xion's sapphire eyes as she crumples to the ground, taken in the same sleep as her companion on the bed.

Dai picks her up gently in one arm as he snaps his fingers with his free hand. A small bed appears and he lifts her carefully into it.

He marvels at how light she was and examines her features carefully.

The same blank state that Sora had had been etched into the girl's face.

"Sleep well, my friends. I wish you nothing but the sweetest of the memories you have left." Dai tells the room as a series of miserable tears begin to cascade down his face from the dark pools that were his eyes.

He leaves them, leaves them to dream.


	10. Remembering

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or _EVER _will belong to me.**

**Hmmm… hmmm…. And some more HMMM!**

**These chapters might (definitely) contain spoilers for Kingdom Hearts I, II and Birth By Sleep. Especially about the identity of someone we all know and love… well, not love but enjoy to beat up.**

**And with that note, I hope _you _enjoy, my friends!**

**And you better appreciate the _real _dialogue from the games… you know how annoying it was to watch those cutscenes over and over to get it right?**

* * *

'_You know something? It's really not fair to them… _they're _the ones who'll have to change the world after us.'_

"Who… who's talking?" Riku wonders out loud to the darkness, wincing as he reaches out to touch the faint light that he could see without opening his eyes all the way.

It burned his eyes even to squint at that little light.

Soon he can hear another voice, one that seemed so familiar…

"Hey. Did you come from the outside world?" Riku hears.

In amazement, he watches as a younger version of him, him as a five year old, questions him curiously.

They were on the smaller island and the younger Riku was looking at him with a solemn look of curiosity.

Even as a kid, Riku had always acted much older than he really was.

The older Riku is about to answer when a second voice comments:

"Huh? Why would you say that?"

Riku turns around to see a teenager, a guy about his age, look over at the little Riku with a smile.

"Because nobody lives out here, and I know you're not from the main island." The illusion of Riku retorts smugly.

"Smart kid. So how about you? What are you doing here?" The older guy asks curiously,

"Oh, my friends dad took us out on the boat. This is where we like to play, but they won't let us row out here by ourselves, not till we get older." The younger Riku says with a mildly bored tone, shrugging as if it didn't really concern him very much.

"Must be hard, huh, stuck in one place." The teenager comments with a sad smile as if he was thinking about something that he'd left behind, probably never to see again.

He glances up at the real Riku and bows his head at him before turning back to the little boy.

"I heard once there was a kid who left for good." The younger Riku comments as he walks down to the water and peers out at the clear blue waters surrounding the Play Island.

"The door's open…" The older boy murmurs, signaling at the little boy for a moment and then at the real one.

'_Huh? What's he trying to tell me?' _Riku wonders as his younger self turns back to the brown haired teen.

"So how did you get here, anyway?" He asks curiously, now looking at the teenager in interest.

"Is there some reason you're interested in the outside world?" The teenager asks with interest.

He motions his head at the older Riku as if saying _'Listen to what he's about to say- it's important.'_

"Yeah. I wanna be strong one day. Like that kid who left. He went to the outside world- I bet he's really strong now. I know it's out there somewhere- the strength that I need." The little boy admits with a smile.

"Strength for what?" The teen asks.

The younger Riku shrugs.

"To protect the things that matter. You know, like my friends." He says.

"Outside this tiny world is a much bigger one." The teenager tells him as he steps forward and summons a copper like Keyblade and walks towards the real Riku. The older boy holds out the Key's handle out to him.

"In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend—no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love." He recites these words in a monotone voice but the warm smile on his face makes him seem as if he was like a concerned older brother.

A rush of new power flows through Riku as he suddenly remembers; this boy, he had met this boy a long time ago, when he was little... His name was...

"Terra. It's Terra. I don't think I ever told you my name though." Terra tells him with a laugh.

"Terra." Riku echoes to himself. In an instant, the name clicked.

"You're Master _Aqua's _friend!" He blurts out.

Terra nods solemnly as the Keyblade in his hand swiftly vanishes in a burst of light.

"Yeah. I'm also someone you know, Riku. When I possessed you a few years ago, I managed to leave this fragment inside of your Heart." Terra says in a suddenly deeper and colder voice.

Riku recoils in fear as he recognizes the all too familiar voice.

"You have known me by the name of… Ansem the Seeker of Darkness." Terra informs him with a self depreciating smile, his dark blue eyes now a harsh shade of gold.


	11. Master

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or **_**EVER **_**will belong to me.**

**Hmmm… hmmm…. And some more HMMM!**

**These chapters might (definitely) contain spoilers for Kingdom Hearts I, II and Birth By Sleep. Especially about the identity of someone we all know and hate. **

**Well**_**, I **_**hate him.**

**All I can say about this chapter is that I'm pleased to see that I managed to write it fairly well and that "YES! We're finally gonna have the party begin with the actual quest!"**

**And with that note, I hope **_**you **_**enjoy, my friends!**

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**

"I am one of the last Keyblade Wielders left in the worlds." Terra/Ansem informs him in that monotonous drone, the all too familiar shadow-like Guardian twisting and contorting in the ground beneath his feet.

"So you're telling me… that Ansem's a Keyblade Master and that you're what's left of him? You really think I'll believe _that_?" Riku demands disdainfully.

Terra smiles warmly, his face's expression completely different from those emotionless golden eyes locked so hungrily onto Riku.

"I never said I was a Keyblade _Master_. It's a common misconception. Besides… shouldn't you be a little more cautious?" Terra questions, now speaking in his normal voice. His eyes glance down at Riku's feet.

Riku stares at him in confusion before realizing that the shadowy Guardian had stretched out on the white sand, an inky black shadow that had swiftly and silently engulfed the ground around him.

Riku sinks about knee deep in the sticky goop, struggling violently to not be swallowed up by the swirling vortex.

Terra walks over to him calmly, completely unafraid of the Darkness.

He slips something around Riku's neck.

Even as Riku struggled, he could feel a star shaped charm bouncing off of his chest with the metal tipped corners digging into his body.

"Give this Wayfinder to my real self. When I remember, I'll tell you something… something about someone who's missing right now. It'll be useful." Terra whispers kindly as Riku feels the tendrils of Darkness wrap around his face.

_Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water._

"No… it was me who changed… The Islands didn't change…." Riku whispers as he stares up at the single patch of light that he could see as he fell slowly down into the depths of the Darkness.

"Why did I leave in the first place?" Riku wonders to himself, lifting his seemingly lead heavy hand to his chest where the star that Terra had given him hung.

Suddenly, above him, he can see someone running.

The boy was running along a path and looked as if he was completely lost.

He continuously stops to look around for a moment before continuing to run, dragging the strangely shaped sword behind him.

The grayish white angelic wing winks at him dully in the near complete Darkness as the red, purple and blue blade seems to vanish.

The boy briefly turns to look down at him, shaping his lips as if he was about to speak, but instead quickly vanishes as his path twists even further down into the abyss.

Riku closes his eyes and simply allows the Darkness to take him wherever it was going to.

He feels the slim fingers of a girl's hand wrap gently around his wrist, bringing him back to the light.

* * *

**Yen Sid's Tower**

"You said this wouldn't hurt him!" A furious voice shouts as Riku twitches.

"Princess… please calm yourself. He shall be returning in a few moments." A deeper voice says soothingly.

"Gosh, we didn't know that this would happen. Honest!" A third voice says in a worried tone.

"Master, I think he's waking up!" King Mickey's voice calls out as Riku opens his eyes.

Three faces look down at him with mixed expressions of worry and interest.

Kairi looks completely relieved as she holds her hand out to Riku to help him up.

Riku grins at her, sitting up carefully.

The instant he does, the Wayfinder around his neck bounces slightly off of his chest.

He stares at it and looks up to see Mickey's expression of shocked recognition at the charm.

"Terra's…" The King murmurs in amazement, staring at it and then up to Riku.

Riku grips the charm and looks up at Yen Sid.

"I know what I have to do now." He says in a determined voice, standing up quickly even though he felt as if he was about to collapse from exhaustion.

The sorcerer's eyes glimmer in amusement as he bows his head to Riku in mild respect.

"Be careful, Riku. Even the greatest Master can become lost. That is why I am sending you and Kairi to Master Aqua. She shall train you… however, I see no reason for you not to become a Master on your own power." Yen Sid waves his hand around the room. He nods over at the window and Riku and Kairi immediately looks outside.

Three balls of light floating around lazily above the green grass and occasionally bouncing against a tree.

"Just like Aqua, Terra, Mickey and Sora before you, you two shall be taking the exam for the Mark of Mastery. This is not a competition or a battle for supremacy—this is merely a test of Heart." Master Yen Sid informs them calmly.

In unison, Riku and Kairi blurt out their questions:

"What does this test mean?"

"Sora… took this test?"

They stare at each for a second before turning their gazes back onto Yen Sid.

He chuckles and points to the gleaming spheres.

"This test shall determine whether or not you two are worthy of the Rank of Master. Then you shall become true Keyblade Masters. And yes, Kairi. Sora took this test roughly a month or two before your battle at Radiant Gardens." Yen Sid explains, waving his hand once again.

For a split second, both Riku and Kairi see a black cloaked figure attacking furiously, slashing between the spheres but not actually hitting any even though his Key kept bouncing off of something… as if there was an invisibly enemy that the boy was attacking.

At the end of his seemingly random attacks, he bows deeply and politely to the empty air before turning and walking away, vanishing.

Riku summons his Kingdom Key while Kairi summons her own Destiny's Embrace at the same exact time.

They glance at each other and nod in unison as they both run through the open door to the stairs.

King Mickey sighs in relief before looking curiously at his former teacher.

Yen Sid smiles sadly.

"I know, Mickey. I understand your reluctance… But they need to fight. These children need to counteract the actions of the ones who helped destroy the balance between the worlds. We have no other choice." Yen Sid says in a voice tinged with both confidence and regret.

They both glance up at the stars beginning to show in the open window before turning to the door and descending the stairs.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

"This isn't fair… Why is it that we Replicas never ever get a freakin' break?" The boy says to himself as he drops the lifeless hand.

The tiny girl's blank eyes stare up to the sky, the dark blue irises reflecting the gleaming silver of the stars.

"Just cause we're Replicas, does that mean we never get a happy ending?" Haru wonders up to the heavens as he smiles bitterly.

"That doesn't have to happen to _you_, you know." A voice says calmly.

In an instant, Haru has his Soul Eater blade out and is already preparing a blast of black flames in the other hand.

"Who are you? If you're another Organization lackey, you can just fuckin' forget your little plan and beat it!" Haru snarls in a threatening way as he takes a step forward to protect the motionless corpse.

"I ain't gonna hurt ya, Haru. Chill, man." The man continues with a strange accent. Haru lowers his sword a fraction of an inch.

"… You… you know my name? How?" He asks in curiosity.

The man smiles in the darkness, his differently colored eyes gleaming in the darkness of the night.

"Well, doesn't my voice sound familiar? C'mon, we got work to do, kiddo." The man says as he takes a few steps forward and throws something at Haru's feet.

Haru stares at the black jacket and bends down cautiously to pick it up.

".. A. This is -!" Haru says in surprise. He holds it out to the faint light of the moonlight, catching the silver beads on the neck making them gleam brightly.

"Yup. A bona fide Organization jacket. I kinda swiped it; you're gonna need to travel through the gates of Darkness with me." The man says in an attempt at calm voice, though there was more than a little excitement running through his deep voice.

Haru stares at it as if the simple jacket held all the answers he would need to find but then he lowers it and glares furiously at the shadows.

"You really think givin' me a stupid jacket is gonna help? I'm still just empty! Everything about me is borrowed! I'm never gonna be real so what's the _point_?" Haru shouts as he throws it back.

"Well, if you wanna be real, first you need to think positive. Got it? Now… Let's give her a nice funeral. You mind, Vanitas?" The man asks calmly.

The second figure, a boy roughly Haru's age, nods jerkily before murmuring a single word. A huge wave of fire blasts out of the shadows, temporarily creating an artificial day as a nearby pile of wood, presumably gathered by Haru, combusts into flames.

Haru recoils at the sight of the man's scarred face and backs away a step.

"Yeah, pretty damn scary right? You'd never believe the looks I get back home. Especially with this little gem right here." The man points to his left eye which had a bunch of tiny little scars around it, almost as if a dull knife had dug right into his socket.

Haru jumps when the man slings the jacket back at him. This time, Haru puts it on and ties his long silver hair back with a thin string.

"Then… will you two help me find out what I'm supposed to do?" He asks with a desolate smile as he adjust the jacket to fit him more comfortably.

"Well, I'll see what I can do. You gotta help _me _out first though." The man says with an equally as miserable expression. He makes a scoffing noise as if belittling himself in his thoughts.

"In what?" Haru asks in a mildly suspicious way though he still looked eager to help out.

"You gotta help me find my friend." The man asks.

"What's his name?" Haru asks curiously as he adjusts the tight fitting jacket to be slightly more comfortable.

"His name's Riku." Xoras tells him with a strange look in his mismatched eyes.

Guilt.


	12. Mastery

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or **_**EVER **_**will belong to me.**

**Since I've been feeling a little serious lately and I don't feel like messing with my guys from fiction press, I've decided to update this one!**

**Warning! These chapters might (definitely) contain spoilers for Kingdom Hearts I, Kingdom Hearts II, Chain of Memories and Birth By Sleep. **

**Ah and to the lurkers out there… Don't fav this, REVIEW it!**

**Tell me if you like a part, tell me if you think a certain part is stupid, or if you just think that this or that should be added to help the story flow a bit better.**

**Seriously… How am I supposed to get better if I don't have some feedback?**

**Oh and I have a question for all you reviewers: Should I do a "Day At" fic for the Birth By Sleep characters?**

**It's been bugging me but I don't want to start it unless I get some feedback on the idea.**

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* * *

****Yen Sid's Tower**

When Riku and Kairi run down the staircase and finally out to the open meadow, they're ready to begin their exam.

Bouncing excitedly on their heels, they wait impatiently for Yen Sid and King Mickey to come down the steps.

"If we pass this, then we'll be real Masters. Not just…" Riku trails off, glancing at the completely still Kairi at his side.

She nods solemnly and smiles.

"Then we'll be just like Sora. Heroes." She agrees.

With that solemn thought in mind, the pair quickly become transfixed on the spheres of light, watching their swaying movements carefully as they wait for the signal to begin.

"Now, the goal of this test is to test your stamina. Remember, a Keyblade Master often is the only one he or she can rely on in a time of crisis. Begin!" Yen Sid calls out as he strolls calmly through the double doors of his Tower.

The second that he gives this command, the Orbs of light begin to go crazy and bounce off of every possible surface in their sudden fury to get at the young Keyblade Wielders.

"Whoa! These things are harder than they look!" Kairi yelps as she swats one rogue Orb away from her and causes it to explode in a flash of dazzling light.

Riku nods jerkily as he dodges one of the bouncier Orbs and slams it to the ground with a well-aimed slash of his Keyblade, effectively destroying it in a bright flash of light.

Within a few minutes, the Orbs are quickly vanquished and the two teens look expectantly at Yen Sid and at King Mickey.

"Well done, Wielders." Yen Sid says in a calm voice but from the ominous expression on his face, he wasn't pleased.

"Gawrsh! You guys did real well!" Goofy says encouragingly to the kids as he pulls out another handful of popcorn from the box that had mysteriously appeared while the kids had been fighting.

"Aw, phooey! If this doesn't make ya Keyblade Masters, nothin' will!" Donald adds proudly as if he had personally trained Riku and Kairi.

"Thanks, Donald!" Kairi says gratefully as Riku bows towards the King and Yen Sid.

"Very impressive." Yen Sid says as he nods towards Mickey who summons his Keyblade.

"Sorry guys, but in the next part of the exam... You'll have to fight me!" He says in a reluctant tone as he takes a fighting stance.

"Actually, I think I should take over from here, King Mickey." A gentle voice interrupts as a sudden burst of light from somewhere up above them flashes and Riku goes flying, skidding across the hardened earth and grass uncontrollably.

"Riku!" Kairi calls out, ready to go after her friend when she suddenly collapses to the floor and onto her knees. She had someone else's gloved hand pressed firmly on the top of her head.

"Hey there. Having fun?" Aqua, another Keyblade Master and a person that they had just recently met a few months earlier, asks in a mockingly innocent tone as she rubs her palm against the top of Kairi's head. A teasing sort of smile was on her face and her dark blue eyes twinkle with excitement as Riku gets up, scowling violently at her.

"What are you doing here!" He demands coldly, picking up his Kingdom Key again as he pants heavily at her.

Aqua raises an eyebrow and keeps petting Kairi's head.

"You know something? I don't think that she's quite ready for this, your Majesty." Aqua informs Mickey, pointing to Kairi with her free hand.

Mickey nods.

"Yes, I was thinking that, too. She needs more training. Master Aqua, would you mind?" The King asks politely.

Aqua nods and then lets go of Kairi to turn towards Riku.

"Now. Let's see what our other contender has to show." She says teasingly as she touches the plate armor on her left shoulder.

In the flash of an instant, Aqua's face is obscured from view with a heavy looking metallic blue helmet and the rest of her body is also hidden with a similar armor.

Riku instinctively backs away a step, suddenly feeling a strong and almost formidable sense of power radiating from the girl. He'd only felt something similar to it once before and that had been when he had been dueling Roxas, Sora's dual Keyblade wielding Nobody.

This girl was in almost perfect balance, with both of her magic and her Keyblade doing every little thing that she commanded.

"Is that what it means to be a Keyblade Master?" Riku murmurs to himself in awe, unable to squelch the growing fear inside of him. It seemed like every single molecule of his body was telling him to run, to get as far away from this girl as humanely possible. He knew for a fact that he was going to lose.

"What is it?" Aqua demands in a muffled voice, taking a step forward towards Riku.

Riku drops the Kingdom Key at her feet.

"I'm not fighting a girl. This is a waste of time." Riku says bluntly, turning his back towards her in order to look angrily at King Mickey.

Then he suddenly feels the slap of a Keyblade's blade smacking into the small of his back and he goes sprawling into the grass.

"So you won't fight a girl, huh? I'll have you know that I was the only one of my team to even make it to Master. And I was the only girl!" Aqua sighs, shaking her head as she slams her metal boot into Riku's back, smacking him into the ground as she quickly pins him to the grass.

He struggles violently to get loose but Aqua just keeps him there effortlessly.

"So, the verdict?" Yen Sid asks calmly to his fellow Keyblade Masters.

"They need more training!" Aqua and Mickey state in unison, pointing to Kairi and Riku respectively.

"Maybe in a year or two they'd be ready for a retake but until then… someone needs to train them. They did great for being self taught but that's not enough." Aqua continues with a disappointed sigh.

"Very well. Aqua, a Master can train up to three apprentices at a time, correct?" Yen Sid asks with a strange smile on his face.

Aqua blinks in confusion but nods.

"That's what the Master told me." She confirms quietly, eyeing Yen Sid with suspicion.

"Perfect. Then your first mission as Riku's and Kairi's teacher is to go get your third apprentice!" Mickey says, grinning at Yen Sid knowingly.

"Huh? What third apprentice?" Kairi and Riku ask in unison, twin expressions of confusion and suspicion appearing on their faces.

"The third apprentice is a boy named Roxas." Yen Sid states calmly.

* * *

In one quick motion, Roxas picks up the glistening seashell from the sand.

He allows the fine grains to trickle through his fingers, down past the rings he wore on his left hand and onto his school uniform pants.

"I wonder how long it's been? Since we've last…" Roxas murmurs to the seashell, a faint and bitter smile stretching across his lips as he stares at the empty curved husk in his hand.

He bounces it in his palm for a moment before flicking the white shell into the crystal blue waters of the sea.

He watches as the small shape splashes into the water, instantly disappearing from view as it sank deeper and deeper into the seawater.

He gets up, dusting his neat green uniform pants free of the sand and he looks out into the ocean one last time before turning for the street tram that was beginning to stop at the station.

* * *

**Twilight Town**

As Roxas walks through the glass doors of the Clock Tower after his twenty minute tram ride, he can't help but to look up at the magnificent time-telling piece and up to an all too familiar ledge.

With a habitual smile at their old meeting place, Roxas waves at the face of the giant clock, wishing with all of his might that he'd be able to see those the two silhouettes that belonged to his friends waving back down at him.

He knows that it's only a dream and that it would probably never happen again. Except perhaps in his most reminiscent of dreams.

He adjust the heavy navy book bag on his shoulder and continues walking down the cobblestone street, blissfully unaware of the shadows following his own and of the amber eyes that stared at him with such bitter hatred.


	13. Trio

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney or any other associate of said franchises do not, have not, or **_**EVER **_**will belong to me.**

**Gah… Why did I ever think that I could do serious stuff?**

**Warning! These chapters might (definitely) contain spoilers for Kingdom Hearts I, Kingdom Hearts II, Chain of Memories and Birth By Sleep. **

**And you guys are most likely gonna ticked off for what happens in the next chapter.**

**So apologies in advanced.**

**The quest will continue soon! Just need some of this beginning game stuff out of the way!**

* * *

**Twilight Town**

"Huh?" Roxas turns around, completely sure that he had seen someone following behind him. He had only gotten a small glimpse from the corner of his eye, but he could have sworn that he saw a girl in a black cloak stalking him.

"Roxas. Roxas?" A voice says quietly as he suddenly feels someone tug at his sleeve. He smiles as he turns around, his smile widening the moment that he sees his friend, Naminé. After what had happened to Sora, the pair had become close friends and after some thought, the two teens had decided to come live in Twilight Town with another friend of theirs, Axel, posing as their guardian. It was in this tight-knit trio, completely unaware of what was happening in other parts of the worlds, that they lived.

"What's wrong? You look a little odd." She says in a slightly worried tone as she tucks a strand of pale gold hair behind her ear, staring at him in concern.

He shakes his head and points up to the Clock Tower, which was visible in almost the entire town.

"Xion…" He says in a heartbroken voice, looking mournfully at where they had spent so many happy times together. And now, she was lost to them.

Naminé squeezes his hand soothingly and points back up to the street leading to their apartment.

"Axel's been acting strange again." She reports, adjusting her loose fitting uniform hopelessly, showing more than a little concern now for their older friend.

"Really?" Roxas asks, his brow furrowing in confusion.

It had been going on for almost a month now, Axel's steadily weirder and weirder behavior. At first, he had only said strange things, like he knew something that they didn't. Next, he started to vanish in the middle of the night, disappearing for days on end, before reappearing in his bed, covered in bloody scratches as if he had fought something. Now he had started to insist on random "family" outings as if he was determined to make Roxas and Naminé happy for some strange reason. He never seemed to enjoy these outings though.

"I'm worried about him. He stopped eating again." Naminé confides to him in a soft tone, shaking her head miserably.

Roxas shakes his head and sighs.

"Well, we'll just have to bring him something we'll know he'll eat." He says in a slightly mischievous way, chuckling as he heads back towards the Clock Tower.

"Huh? What?" She asks as she troops along with him.

"A little something extra." Roxas states proudly as he walks towards the ice cream stand.

* * *

Axel stares at the girl in front of him, not even flinching when she pats his hand soothingly, as if he was nothing more than a mere child who needed a bit of comfort to stop crying.

"So… there's no way for me to get more time?" He asks solemnly, clenching his fist in anger, feeling completely useless.

She shakes her head and smiles at him.

"No. There isn't. This is for the best though, Axel." She states simply, patting his hand again.

Axel makes a snarling noise in the back of his throat, glaring at the girl with hatred, wanting nothing more than to simply destroy her. She was useless to him, unless she could come up with a way for him to keep his memories.

"I don't care! I'm not gonna lose my friends! I swore to Xion that I would take care of Roxas! Maybe not in words but that's what she wanted me to do! I saw it!" He growls, his emerald eyes flooding over with tears as he smacks at the table with his fist, making it tremble with a sickening crack.

The girl chuckles at this display, an amused smile appearing on her lips. For a girl so young, she had virtually no compassion.

"Are you quite done?" She asks coldly, still chuckling at how angry Axel was.

He slumps back down in his seat, nodding.

"Yes, Anti. I'm finished." He murmurs in a more respectful tone, bowing to her solemnly.

"Good. Now, I want you to know something. Xion… is not dead. Not quite. She will be soon though, if we cannot get Sora to wake up. What happens to him will happen to her." She says calmly as Axel gives out a startled gasp and stares at her with hope.

"Then… I can…?" He asks excitedly, smiling broadly at the thought of seeing his friend again.

"Perhaps. However, there will be a price to pay for seeing your friend again, Axel." She says in a bored tone, already glancing over at the door in anticipation.

"What is it?" Axel asks as the door slams open and a familiar duo of voices shout out his name.

"You'll see." Anti states quietly as she begins to disappear in a column of black smoke, vanishing completely just as Roxas and Naminé come.

"Hey Axel! Look what we brought you!" Roxas shouts in an overly cheerful voice as he swings a plastic bag at his friend, beaming proudly as Axel stares at him in mild shock.

"… Ice cream?" He asks as Naminé takes the bag from Roxas and hands it to him. Sure enough, there was a sea salt ice cream in it and from the look of it, one of the kind that had the WINNER games in it.

Axle chuckles, already feeling better as he pulls out his treat, biting into the corner in amusement.

"Glad to see you're not acting like such a zombie now." Roxas says in a teasing way, ruffling his older friend's mane of fiery red hair before going back to the doorway to pull off his loafers and get his sandals.

"Axel… who was here with you?" Naminé asks as she points down to a cup that was on the table, opposite to the bright red mug that only Axel used.

"Don't tell Roxas. I don't want him to worry." was all that Axel would say before he got up, rubbing his head as if he had a headache.

* * *

"Hey, Roxas." Axel calls out as Roxas finishes untying his shoelaces, kicking off his dark brown school shoes eagerly.

"Hmm? What is it?" Roxas asks curiously, wondering why his friend had such a strange look on his face.

Then Axel pulls out a trio of tickets for the tram, a cheerful and more natural smile appearing on his face.

"How bout we go to the beach tomorrow? My treat." He says, laughing quietly at Roxas's stunned expression.

"Really? But you said that it wouldn't be right to go without…" He stops, both of them knowing just what he was about to say.

"Yeah, I know. But we can't mourn her forever. She wouldn't want that. Besides… we can say something for her there or something. I don't know much about stuff like this… So you wanna go or not?" Axel says in a slightly embarrassed way, shrugging solemnly.

"Sure! Right after me and Naminé get home from school, alright?" Roxas agrees, already planning the trip mentally.

"Right. After you come home from school." Axel echoes, grabbing Roxas's hand and pulling him up to his feet before heading back into the kitchen without saying another word.

"Axel…" Roxas mutters to himself, wondering why the ice cream hadn't worked. He walks to his bedroom, falling onto his bed.

He stares at a moment at his wall, looking intensely at his wall clock's hands spin slowly around its face. He had the feeling that he was forgetting something. Something very important.

But what could it be?

* * *

**Unknown Location**

The woman, otherwise known as Lady, stares up at the crack of night sky that ebbs through the shattered window. The bright moon blazes in an almost overpowering silvery light, right across her gloved and shackled hand.

She shifts slightly on her makeshift bed of tattered cushions and worn blankets but her sapphire eyes were focused intensely on the crack of dark blue on the ceiling and the strip of diamonds that glittered across it.

"Lady?" A soft voice questions gently as the door to her tower room opens ever so slightly, letting in a small amount of weak yellow light from one of the gas lamps outside.

The woman says nothing but the boy standing there waits nervously as if he was afraid to enter without her permission.

"Um, I brought you some dinner. Master said that you haven't been eating.. So Master thought… something from your home town might…" The boy trails off as he stumbles forward with a tray full of covered silver dishes.

The woman glances over at him as the boy places the tray onto a small table at her side.

"Did you kill her, Keyxs?" She questions in a whisper of a voice, wincing as if it hurt even to speak so quietly.

Keyxs looks away quickly and nods.

He says nothing, instead bowing deeply at her and simply leaving.

The woman looks away the instant that tears begin flowing down her cheeks and says nothing as Keyxs bows again and walks out of the room, looking guilty and ashamed.

"Oh Nami… so that's what happened to you." The woman whispers up to the harshly red tinged moon, leaning back against the dust covered cushions and clamping her hands over her face in an attempt to stifle the spreading heat flowing down her cheeks.

The golden ring on her left hand gleams brightly in this world of darkness, the tiny star shaped impression engraved on the metal band catching the moon's light ever so slightly even as Lady continues to weep.

* * *

**Now, who is Lady?**

**I'm not telling.**

**Is she important? **

**Yes.**

**Will she be coming out later in the story?**

**Also yes.**

**Why is she with the bad guys and why is Keyxs taking care of her?**

**... Not telling.**


End file.
